Intelligence and Love

In the Bible, Matthew 5:44 enjoins you to love your enemies. The Jewish Passover Seder begins with the words, “Remember Laban the Syrian who injured our father Jacob.” These passages would suggest that Christianity is a religion of peace and forgiveness, while Judaism is a religion of war. But ignoring the fact that Christianity can be as warlike as any other religion, and Judaism as pacific, the paradox here is this: The greatest weapon of war is intelligence – understanding the enemy, his intentions and his capabilities. Without intelligence, wars are lost. The Christian notion of loving your enemy is the foundation of intelligence, and therefore of war.

It’s been said that you cannot grasp the enemy’s intentions without understanding him. I would put it more radically: You must become him. You must see what he sees as he does, fear what he fears, lust after what he lusts after, and from this understand what he will do and how he will do it because, being him, it is what you would do and how you would do it. If you hate your enemy, the hatred will blur your vision, telling you things that you believe about him rather than the things he believes. Analysis is therefore a form of madness whereby you split yourself in two, merging one part with the enemy and stowing away part of yourself for safekeeping.

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Πηγή: geopoliticalfutures.com