"One who excels at warfare first establishes himself in a position where he cannot be defeated while not losing the opportunity to defeat the enemy.

For this reason, the victorious army first realizes the conditions for victory, and then seeks to engage in battle. The vanquished army fights first, and then seeks victory."

- Sun Tzu, The Art of War, Chp. 3, Planning the Attack

Lessons heard but not learned for the Bush administration in its Iraq quagmire.