Originally Posted by
jolihokistix
In a bric-a-brac store yesterday, I idly picked up a set of Chinese sayings on a screen of bamboo sticks. The first one said, "Strike only when you are sure your enemy is weak."
Testing times have suddenly appeared as if out of nowhere. All European countries will be feeling threatened now and wanting to keep a measure of defense in reserve. What can they realistically spare up front, and would they still be able to fight in a world now reverting to long-forgotten Middle Ages savagery?
That's a quote from "The Art of War", Sun Tzu, from around 500 BC:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Art_of_War
Still used as a military textbook today.