"Therefore, the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy's will to be imposed on him." — Sun Tzu, "The Art of War""War - an act of violence whose object is to constrain the enemy, to accomplish our will." — George Washington, General of the Continental Army

"Therefore, the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy's will to be imposed on him." — Sun Tzu, "The Art of War"

"War - an act of violence whose object is to constrain the enemy, to accomplish our will." — George Washington, General of the Continental Army

First, I want to say, Honor Memorial Day to everyone. This is not a day of happiness, but a day to reflect upon the sacrifices of those who made the "last full measure of devotion" for our nation.

I came on active duty as a U.S. Army Field Artillery Second Lieutenant on 1 November 1983. I arrived at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, for my Field Artillery Officers Basic Course on 30 October. That was one week after the 23 October Beirut barracks bombing, which killed 241 Marines, Sailors, and a Soldier. The Islamic terrorist attack was executed via a truck bomb by Hezbollah, the proxy terrorist army of the Islamic Republic of Iran. While attending the University of Tennessee, I became very aware of Iran due to the Islamic revolution, which ushered in the tyrannical regime of the Ayatollah Khomeini, and the seizing of our U.S. Embassy and taking American hostages for over 400 days. For those who would quip that we have embarked upon a "war of choice," that is an absurd assertion. Iran has been at war with the United States since our Bicentennial in 1976, for almost 50 years. And the recent battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan resulted in thousands of American troops being killed and maimed by Iranian-made explosive force penetrators (EFPs), a very lethal IED (improvised explosive device). If there was any justification for entering into combat operations, Iran has provided plenty.

However, in prosecuting this combat operation, we have failed to comprehend the premise of Sun Tzu, the imposition of our will. The "Art of War" was mandatory........

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