I need to tell people that, regardless of it having been said by someone enacting the role of a gangster in an Oscar-winning movie, "keeping your enemies closer than your friends" is a fucking idiotic piece of advice.
People should stop quoting that line and then stroking their chins in a sage-like manner, you look like complete dimwits.
(You don't need to "understand your enemy", you only need to understand his STRATEGY.)
Better still: you only need to "understand your enemy" to the extent that it meaningfully informs your understanding of your enemy's strategy. Anything beyond that is window dressing.
@mcfate
To clarify, "keeping them close" is what you need to do if you don't have empathy. You wouldn't have enough data to act upon - besides espionage.
So, "Keep your friends close, and spy on your enemies"...?
Doesn't have nearly the same ring, does it? Are you "close" to people you spy on for having spied on them?
@mcfate
I think you assumed that I was disagreeing with your op.
I was trying to add a finer point to the insight.
@mcfate
Empathy provides insight into how the person thinks.
Unsure if Empathy can be used on a culture.
Empathy and Sympathy are <>
I understand the meaning of empathy, thanks.
I just don't understand where Napoleon, or Eisenhower, or Leonidas, or really, ANYONE displayed it in the fashion you'd seem to be waving your hands at here.
Name me a historical example of someone who triumphed by "keeping his enemies closer than his friends", and how he managed it.
Clearly, Julius Caesar is right out, hm? He kept his enemies closer than hell.
They STABBED him.
@jurban
I see. So, in what fashion did the US "keep Japan close" in World War 2?
How did Wellington "keep Napoleon close"?
How did the 300 Spartans "keep Xerxes close"?
Help me out here. Show me the empathy.
I'm at least a bit sociopathic, so try to keep it simple, okay?