Wisdom from East and West

[markbark]

Whilst perusing "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu (it's always nice to re-read the classics from time to time, isn't it?)
I came across the following footnoted passage from the treatise on Tactical Dispositions:

16. The consummate leader cultivates the moral law, and strictly adheres to method and discipline; thus it is in his power to control success.


OK, fair enough, but the clincher comes from the footnote, an excerpt from a book by
Sir Robert Grainger Ker Thompson titled "Defeating Communist Insurgency: Experiences from Malaysia and Vietnam"

"There is a very strong temptation...for government forces to act outside the law, the excuses being that the processes of law are too cumbersome, that the normal safeguards in the law for the individual are not designed for an insurgency and that the terrorist deserves to be treated as an outlaw anyway. Not only is this morally wrong, but, over a period, it will create more practical difficulties for a government than it solves. A government which does not act in accordance with the law forfeits the right to be called a government and cannot expect its people to obey the law.(emphasis mine, MB)
Functioning in accordance with the law is a small price to pay in return for the advantage of being the government.


These words were written 40 years ago!
Those who ignore history.....


--MAB