THE USE OF SPIES (EMPLOYMENT OF SECRET AGENTS)

From Griffith's translation:

"The character used in the title means 'the space between' two objects (such as a crack between two doors) and thus 'cleavage', 'division', or 'to divide'. It also means 'spies', 'spying', or 'espionage'."

Importance Of Information Process And Related Communications Capability

"Raising a host of a hundred thousand men and marching them great distances entails heavy loss on the people and a drain on the resources of the state."

"...to remain in ignorance of the enemy's condition, simply because one grudges the outlay of a hundred ounces of silver in honors and emoluments, is the height of inhumanity."

Means Of Developing Foreknowledge

"What enables the wise sovereign and the good general to strike and conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men, is foreknowledge. Now this foreknowledge cannot be elicited from spirits; it cannot be obtained from experience, nor by any deductive calculation.

Knowledge of the enemy's dispositions can only be obtained from other men. Knowledge of the spirit world is to be obtained by divination; information in natural sciences may be sought by inductive reasoning; the laws of the universe can be verified by mathematical calculation; but the dispositions of the enemy are ascertainable through spies and spies alone."

Knowledge, Wisdom, And Understanding Required In Interpreting Information

"Spies cannot be usefully employed without a certain intuitive sagacity. Before using spies we must assure ourselves as to their integrity of character and the extent of their experience and skill."

"Without subtle ingenuity of mind, one cannot make certain of the truth of their reports."

Security (Preservation And Protection) For Information And Related Processing Capabilities

"Hence the use of spies, of whom there are five classes: local spies; internal spies; converted spies; doomed spies; surviving spies.

When these five kinds are all at work, none can discover the secret system. This is called 'divine manipulation of the threads.' It is the sovereign's most precious faculty."

"The end and aim of spying in all its five varieties is knowledge of the enemy..."

"Spies are a most important element in war, because upon them depends an army's ability to move."

Back to to beginning of SunTzu's Art of War.

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