"Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy?s resistance without fighting." This famous maxim from Sun Tzu?s treatise on military strategy, "The Art of War", is said to be the personal motto of Lt-Gen Khin Nyunt, Burma?s intelligence chief and third most powerful general. True to this credo, the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has defeated many of its enemies without firing a single shot. The regime won its first ceasefire trophy in 1989, when it reached an agreement with former Communist Party of Burma (CPB) troops based along Burma?s northern border with China. This deal, which followed the fortuitous collapse of the CPB, enabled the regime to mobilize its frontline troops to other areas where insurgencies had raged for decades. Thus the small and ill-equipped ethnic armies of the Karen, Shan, and Mon, among others, came under increased pressure. Gradually, more and more were forced to cut deals of their own, leaving only a dwindling number of diehard groups to continue fighting..." This article has links to related pieces in the same issue.