AlterNet
by Noah Leavitt

01/05/06

Last week, White House spokeperson Trent Duffy provided the Bush administration's rationale for its extralegal program to spy on United States citizens. Duffy quipped: 'The fact is that Al Quaida's play book is not printed on Page 1, and when America's is, it has serious ramifications. You don't need to be Sun Tzu to understand that.' Duffy was referencing the 'big idea' of Sun Tzu's seminal work, 'The Art of War,' which could be stated as 'the ideal strategy is to win without fighting -- to defeat the enemy before combat becomes necessary.' It was an odd but telling comment, and worth exploring for the critical insights it provides about Bush's views on spying and executive branch power...

http://www.alternet.org/rights/30394/


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp