Sun Tzu and America’s Way of War by Jon Basil Utley — Antiwar.com.

Appear at points which the enemy must hasten to defend; go swiftly to place where you are not expected.

This is perfect for bin Laden.

That general is skillful in attack whose opponent does not know what to defend; and he is skillful in defense whose opponent does not know what to attack.

Obviously America is now trying to defend every border crossing, every transatlantic airplane, every U.S. embassy, every CIA station chief, and above all every American city from nuclear terrorism. At the same time, we don’t know where to attack and what to attack as al-Qaeda metastasizes all over the Muslim world.

If your opponent is of choleric temper, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant.

Bin Laden follows this rule, aggravating our arrogance and self-righteousness, causing us to fall into more of his traps to bankrupt ourselves.

Fight not unless the position is critical. The good general is full of caution. This is the way to keep a country at peace and an army intact.