Enemy is Cruel

I really do not know what to think of Boris Yeltsin, but he is attributed with saying something that sparked my interest.  He said “the enemy is cruel and, of course, bloodthirsty, especially when he knows if he loses no one will take him in.”
I don’t know if I can agree, but I do remember hearing Arnold Schwarzenegger talking about high wire performers and saying there is nothing like not having a safety net to focus performance.  I do know what he was saying, but I am not into people dying for making a mistake.
The thing is, if I know I have nothing to lose but everything, my performance is enhanced.  I fight better when I know there is no viable alternative.  I guess hand to hand combat is like that.  Kill or be killed. Even in general warfare it must be like that.  There are people out to get me.  It is in my best interests to make that as hard as possible.
Not like the ad. on tv with the guy playing paintball.  All is stealth and his mobile rings.  Dead giveaway.  Literally.  I loved the movie “Enemy at the Gates.”  It told the story of a sniper the Russians made a hero of.  The Germans ended up sending their best sniper to get him but to no avail.  Although it could be gruesome, one of the things I liked was how it highlighted their humanity, while they had a job to do.
It seems the job of a sniper is built not only on brains and accuracy but patience.  It could mean waiting many hours for the time to strike.  Apparently in the Vietnam War (which the Vietnamese know as the American War) some US snipers were not so good on the patience part.  They would sit up in trees waiting.  The hours would drag on.  They would think it was ok to have a surreptitious cigarette and that was the end of them.
To me there is nothing like having stuff stripped away to know what really matters.  I am so thankful for it, but it seems I am in my comfort zone.  I was talking with someone the other day and we mentioned how we have electricity and sewage right to our homes.  It was not that long ago when those things were a dream.  I could not get on-line for a few hours yesterday.  I was desperate.  Such a first world problem.
My enemy is cruel especially as he knows no one will take him in.  I need to be careful of distractions – my enemy will use them for my undoing if I let him.