Salman Rushdie's The Prince

Salman Rushdie, a known Indian author once said, “How do you defeat terrorism? Don’t be terrorized” (Rushdie). Rushdie expresses that the only way to stop terror and war is to not let it happen in the beginning or stopping it before it can progress further. This principle of combatting war and terror is present in the government of the United States. Rushdie’s ideas are similar to those of the well-known philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli. Machiavelli expresses his belief that it is essential to be prepared for battle at any moment in his writing The Prince. The government of the United States uses the same idea that Machiavelli presents, although many believe that the government should cut spending on the military and defense budget and approach

One of Machiavelli’s most known works is The Prince which focuses on the qualities a prince must have to be successful (Jacobus 39). One section of his writing The Prince, is about war and the duties a leader has concerning military matters. Machiavelli stresses the need for a prepared army at all times. “It is evident that when princes have given more thought to personal luxuries than to arms, they have lost their state” (Jacobus 40). If a nations military is not prepared, the nation will be taken away piece by piece. The only way to keep a military prepared is to have a leader that takes the military seriously. If the leader is too busy with other matters, it allows others, terror groups, to attack and take advantage of a weak military. “He must, therefore, never raise his thought from this exercise of war, and in peacetime he must train himself more than in time of war” (Jacobus 40). Training a military to defend a nation is necessary in order to be prepared to protect a nation and its citizens. Training comes in forms of physical and mental toughness. Machiavelli tells a story of a prince who would test his men as they traveled to always make sure they were prepared for combat. The prince would ask simple questions such as “If the enemy were on that hilltop and we were here with our army, which of the two of us would have the advantage?” to prepare his military (Jacobus 41). The United States military uses the same principle of preparation in todays wars. Before attacking, the military practices the mission several times in simulators or other training methods to make sure that all potential mistakes are fixed prior to being in combat. The United States military shapes its training around Machiavelli’s principle of preparedness and