Final answer:
The 17 principles of existing control activities possibly refer to the COSO internal control framework, although the provided excerpts do not directly relate to it. The question lacks the specific context required to answer accurately about the 'existing control activities', with one excerpt discussing military strategy and the other energy assessment.
Step-by-step explanation:
The 17 principles of existing control activities are part of a framework known as the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) which provides guidelines for organizational internal control. When discussing these principles, it is important to specify the context. The provided excerpts do not directly correlate to the COSO framework, so it is unclear which 'existing control activities' refer to the 17 principles within the COSO framework. The first excerpt, principle 13 about the general and Earth, seems related to military or strategic studies rather than business internal controls. The second reference appears to pertain to energy assessment principles, which differ from the internal control principles. Should you be looking for information specifically on the COSO internal control principles, they include various aspects such as risk assessment, control environment, information and communication, and monitoring activities. Each of these encompasses different principles aiming at strengthening the overall control framework of an organization.