Ultimate excellence lies, not in winning every battle; but in defeating the enemy without ever fighting.  The highest form of warfare is to attack strategy itself. Without a full understanding of the harm caused by war, it is impossible to understand the most profitable way of conducting it. He who knows self but not the enemy; will suffer one defeat for every victory. When there is no way out; you are on death terrain. No nation has ever benefited from a protracted war The Art of War