Sun Tzu got it right

For my fellow Arkansans who might not know the greatest military genius of all time, Sun Tzu was a general, military strategist, writer, and philosopher from ancient China. In his greatest work, The Art of War, he opined that if you don’t read and understand the past you will surely fail in the future.

Over 1,000 years after Sun Tzu, the U.S. government and military are teetering on the precipice of abject failure again when our diplomats and military generals have negotiated a “reduction in violence” with the Taliban, with whom we have engaged for the past 19 years. Say what, buddy?

What is this guy from Arkansas talking about? Well, simply put, you cannot negotiate with a King Cobra snake or the Taliban. The outcome is already predetermined. Thirty seconds after the last U.S. military person takes off from Kabul airport, the Taliban will topple the fragile Afghan government, re-establish Sharia, round up everyone who assisted the U.S. or shaved off his beard, and murder all intellectuals, teachers, lawyers, doctors, schoolgirls, women, or anyone they perceive to have not religiously practiced the loving and caring doctrine of the Koran.

Sounds familiar, you say? Vietnam in 1975. Bueller, Bueller, can’t believe this garbage. Sun Tzu rides again. Last word: If your goal is to assist a fledgling country, then you have to break things and kill the enemy, not negotiate with him. Have a nice day!

LOUIS BURNETT

Little Rock