In the thirteenth century B.C. a Greek army besieged the city of
Troy. The siege went on for ten years. Finally, the Greeks admitted
exhaustion and defeat. Pulling down their siege works and abandoning
their trenches, the Greeks retired from the conflict.
The happy Trojans, safe within their walls, took the Greek collapse
at face value . The Trojans could pat themselves on the back for a job
well done. And they could enjoy their victory prize — a great wooden
horse mounted on wheels that the Greeks had left behind.
The Trojans rolled the big horse into the city, not realizing that
Greek soldiers were hidden inside of it. After nightfall, when the
Trojans were drunk or asleep, the Greeks emerged from the horse to open
the city gates. Meanwhile, the whole Greek army had secretly returned
under cover of darkness. With the gates of the city open, they poured
in and slaughtered the unwary inhabitants.
True or not, this classic story long contributed to the military
education of Greek youth. Repeated again and again, to one generation
after another, the story presents a basic and short course on strategic
deception. To avoid the fate of Troy, a leader must always be wary and
vigilant. He must never trust an easy victory. He must treat peace
offerings with extreme caution; for things are not always what they
seem. Defeat can be a pretense. Collapse can be a disguise.
Withdrawal can be a maneuver.
The art of strategic deception is older than history. To break a
stalemate, to overcome a more powerful opponent, cunning is required.
Perhaps America thinks itself too intelligent, too enlightened, to fall
into a trap. Many Americans might inwardly laugh at the stupidity of
the ancient Trojans, imagining that America is immune to deception, that
America’s enemies are incapable of feigning their own collapse — of
abandoning hard-won positions to insert a Trojan horse.
But why is today any different than yesterday? Why should Americans
be any different than Trojans?
In fact, America is exactly like the Troy of legend. It believes
itself victorious in the so-called Cold War. And rather than taking in
one Trojan horse, we have taken in thousands of them — in the form of
countless Chinese and Russian front companies involved in shipping,
trucking and banking; in the form of joint ventures with China; under
the guise of free trade, for the purpose of getting rich.
Trojan horses are now everywhere. Every arms control agreement with
Russia is a Trojan horse. The United Nations has become a Trojan
horse. We even dragged a Trojan horse into the White House — into the
Executive Branch of the federal government. The list of Trojan horses
cannot even be compiled, because the penetration of our system prevents
the compilation. In other words, the watchmen on the walls have been
The country sleeps as the gates are opened.
The Russian and Chinese military buildup, which advances today from
strength to strength with Western funds, resembles the stealthy return
of the Greek army in the dead of night. As the gates of fortress
America are opened from within, the attack is prepared from without.
Even in the darkness, the faint outline of the advancing army can be
seen by those who are awake. But the country as a whole is drunk on the
sweet wine of false victory, and cannot be roused.
Of course, most Americans may read this column and dismiss the
comparison of America to Troy. However, their argument is emotional and
knee-jerk. They haven’t given the subject much thought. After all, it
is difficult to think when you are asleep. Clinton wants to reduce our
nuclear arsenal to 2,000 warheads. He would reduce it to 1,000 if he
Is that clear? Has that been understood yet?
Sadly, we should have seen this coming. In fact, we were given
warnings by defectors. But these defectors were disrespected. Their
message was put down, the messengers were slandered. For example, the
KGB defector Anatoliy Golitsyn was greeted with a diagnosis: a CIA
psychiatrist said he was clinically insane.
In the last analysis, smug optimism fed by enemy disinformation
clouded America’s common sense. Deluded by wishful thinking, our
leaders unfocused their minds, slashed our country’s defense capability
and financed the enemy’s military buildup — stupidly imagining that the
money would be used to implement reforms in Russia. To this end we gave
billions for the dismantlement of Russian nuclear weapons. But how many
weapons have been dismantled?
The changes in Russia were largely smoke and mirrors. Isn’t it time
to admit the possibility of a Kremlin-orchestrated deception? The old
Communist Party leadership, with its secret police infrastructure, still
controls Russia. The names in Russia have been changed, but the
personnel remains the same. Look at President Vladimir Putin — himself
a creature of the KGB. Now he is supposed to be a democrat who believes
in free markets and reform.
If Charles Manson changed his name to Donald Duck, would you trust
Like the ancient Greeks besieging Troy, the Communists have declared
their defeat. They abandoned their previous positions. On our side the
Clintons and Tony Blairs of the West have taken power. The relaxation
of Cold War tensions facilitated a swing to the left.
A Trojan horse has entered our most secret places.
If this is allowed to continue we will not survive as an independent