“Consider the vast influence of accident in war before you are engaged in it. It is a common mistake in going to war to begin at the wrong end, to act first, and wait for disaster. — Thucydides, Athenian ambassador to Spartan Assembly, 432 BCE” WarMistakesAccident Book:Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides's Trap? Source: Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides's Trap?