What Dave said!

(And I don't rough up CvC, only those who take him a bit too literally and universally. Everything must be read within the context of its time and culture. Sun Tzu was crafted over hundreds of years of experience I believe, so has a broader base of time; but both still colored by their cultures all the same)

And when I speak to populace focused approaches, it is not to say one does not go through the government; but often it is the government that must change the most for them to regain peace with their populace. So my focus is to help the Gov't get straight with its populace, or if they refuse either leave, or help the populace get a Gov't that will (depends on how big the interest is that brought us there); but to simply take the govt as they are and assist them in subduing their populace is simply to add our names to the target list.

Often we refuse to play hardball with governments because we fear the consequences. Often these fears are based in our addictions (energy being a big one); sometimes these fears our based in concerns with other states and what happens if we lose some support or right of access from the one we are engaging. Fear is healthy. It just isn't always rational.