Tactical Superiority Makes the Difference

 • Herod’s Law: You fuck them, or you get fucked.

Let us face it: conflict and competition are the staples of existence. Losing can have dire consequences. While winning can mean having an harem to sire progenies to ensure genetic immortality. So, winning is the only thing that matters—it is everything. Draws are simply wins on both sides, and they may not resolve matters—ultimately one side must win—as per Amin Dada’s “completely, and also.” Caution: this does not mean barbaric destruction and/or humiliation. It is about taking whole.

A master carpenter sets out to make a chair. He has a way to create a masterpiece. Like the carpenter, a master tactician also has a way. His masterpiece is a clear, unequivocal win.

The way of winning is being nimble on one’s feet, using ad hoc tactics from moment to moment as the occasion calls: sometimes offensive; other times defensive; and, at times, it pays to stay put and neutral. All this in the context of a mind that is spacious, rhythmic and orderly flexible, while taking into account a given REACT (Resources, Environment, Attitude, Concentration and Timing). (Krause, 1999).

To the master tactician knowledge is an indispensible resource—it’s worth its weight in gold bullion. Many sage tacticians of antiquity can’t overemphasize enough the importance of knowledge of self and the adversary. Take the case of Museveni who has ruled Uganda for nearly a quarter century: other than the confused multitudes that he manipulates at will, those who want his job have sacks of information to work with. Instead, he is left to frame the debate and set the tone. When he punches, some are left bleeding and react like amateurs.

At every opportunity, Mr. Museveni rails against the opposition, calling them liars, when, in fact, his lying is legendary. With his status, of course, the peasants get to believe authority! It is not too late to start defining him as a liar. There are numerous examples available. Don’t assume that the electorate should know. Constant reminder is the key to getting to them. Of course, as we all know, he is wont to get angry. That is the point: get him angry into reaction modes.

Surprise, fear, deception and disruption are all tools to throw an opponent off his game. So, when an also-running dude says he is compiling a list to use against Museveni, where is the element of surprise? If he meant to threaten and create fear, the man is probably in Memsahib’s boudoir and derisively telling her: Look at this joker! If you are going to praise the man’s contrived National Plan as the said also-running fellow did, why is he then running anyway? Why not call him “Uncle,” and let us go home?

Now, the buzzword is "societal transformation." How many cockamamie high-sounding schemes have been peddled for decades without measurable results? If you cannot point this weakness and offer concrete alternative vision, do not waist anybody’s time.

In the final analysis, it is Herod’s Law: You fuck them, or you get fucked.