A game. The only winning move is not to play

In symmetrical warfare, when you don't play, you face assured destruction. If you are playing, there is a chance that your counterparty will make a mistake or some unexpected externality will occur, and you will survive.

But this, of course, does not apply to the asymmetrical warfare that we are witnessing today. Here everything is much simpler and based on psychological, political, and economic externalities, rtaher than on the rationality or military power or weakness of the players.