The sort of deception Sun Tzu talks about does not come from studying manuals. It is a way of thinking and being, a way that is alien to Western intellectual and cultural traditions. Sun Tzu describes it thus:

    So veiled and subtle,
    To the point of having no form;
    So mysterious and miraculous,
    To the point of making no sound.
    Therefore he can be arbiter of the enemy's fate.

Sun Tzu's army is everywhere and yet nowhere. Griffith translates the beginning of the verse as "Subtle and insubstantial, the expert leaves no trace." This is the epitome of the indirect approach. There are no heavy battalions or massed batteries in this picture. They come into view only if the strategy of indirection and deception fails or is left untried.

Linked with deception is an emphasis on psychological warfare directed against enemy soldiers to destroy their morale and...