Fighting for the Future: Will America Triumph?

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant, broad vision of the conflicts ahead
Review: Do not be concerned with the brevity of this book. On page after page Peters condenses brilliant thinking into one or two sentences which deliver what other authors would struggle to accomplish in paragraphs or pages.

The book is magnificent in the scope of its vision. Peters' ability to look into the future, from the global forces breeding conflict to the technology and leadership required for combat in the urban centers of the world, stretches the imagination of the reader.

Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Analysis and Insight Into Battlefields of Future
Review: Fighting for the Future is an extraordinary book . Peters clearly and precisely discusses the nature, challenges, and opportunities facing the US Army in the years to come. Indeed, readers may not realize that each of Peter's essays compiled in Fighting for the Future was written exclusively for US Military officers and have appeared in the professional journals that few others read or are even aware of. But make no mistake about it, the mid and senior ranks of the US military have been devouring and debating the basic tenets of Peter's conclusion for several years. Peters has sparked a debate of such white hot proportions, that these writings are now becoming more accessible to the wider public. Not everyone will agree with Peters. He has the subtlety of a bayonet charge as he articulates the challenges ahead. It is this honesty and clarity of thought that has made these writings so popular within the military ranks. His discussion of the warrior and what it will take for the US army to effectively engage him is brilliant. His clear and unabashed conclusion that we must face the unpleasant fact that our Army must be prepared to deal effectively with cultures and societies that are controlled by a small percentage of these warriors who enjoy killing and war is troubling but unavoidable. Peters concludes that we are going to have to remove these warriors by killing them or imprisoning them if we are to have any success. No sugar coating here. No spin, just the cold hard facts driven home. I strongly,recommend this book for anyone trying to understand the nature and scope of the battlefields of the future. Perhaps more importantly, the publication of Fighting for the Future, gives non military people a glimpse into the debates and thinking now raging among the best of our military leaders.

Rating:
Summary: A Real Mixed Bag
Review: Hmm. Well it took me a little while to get round to reading one of Colonel Peters' books (having seen him being recommended in Colin Gray's excellent "Modern Strategy") but now I've done it!

While reading this book, my feelings ranged from disappointment, to interest to outright alarm. It's very... variable.

First off it should be made clear that this book is a collection of essays, written over a period. Therefore there is no unifying thread tying them all together and Peters sometimes repeats himself. The essays are of varying quality.

I believe Colonel Peters has fought long and hard against pork in the military procurement system and more power to him. It is when dealing with this sort of area that he is at his best. He clearly has seriuos ideas about where the armed forces of the United States are going and where they SHOULD be going and is concerned that the two strands don't match up. Whether you agree with everything he has to say or not is fairly immaterial - he is clearly a thinking man and his views deserve to be listened to and taken on board. Though by the time of writing this review, I believe soem of the deficiencies Peters highlights (such as urban warfare capability) have been, or are in the process of being, remedied.

When he starts to move onto the bigger picture, Peters is on less solid ground. Some of his assertions are questionable at best, particularly with regards to development economics and demographic changes. Much is made about him having visited 30-something countries, as though that by definition makes him an authority. Well, I dare say people like Robert Fisk and John Pilger have probably visited umpteen different countries too, but I suspect most of the people who read Peters would say they talk the most dreadful rubbish (I certainly would, by and large) so I suppose you pay your money and you take your choice.

So much for the interesting and the nothing-special. Now for the alarming. When Peters started laying out his world vision for the future of America my jaw started to drop and continued downwards. Pretty alarming stuff, even for a pro-American Brit who has spent the past few months having flaming arguments with anti-war types. Though I understand that as a responsible Anglo-Saxon type, America will graciously allow my country to retain some of our armaments in Colonel Peters' brave new world order (as opposed to some of my shrill, non-English speaking cousins on the continent who have apparently abdicated their right to organise their own national defence...), the better to undertake all those tiresome nation-building missions and clean-up operations that the Americans won't want to be bothered with (under American direction, of course).

That said, when it comes to these areas, I'm not sure how seriously to take Peters. He's clearly nothing if not a great controversialist (is that a word? It is now) and sometimes one gets the feeling that he's more in the business of getting people to think outside the box than in the business of laying down hard and fast prescriptions. Which is an admirable aim and one in which he largely (not completely) succeeds. So more power to him on that front. Many of his more specific predictions and policy judgements I find far less appealing.

Rating:
Summary: Few answers here, but many really good questions!
Review: I came upon this book after reading some of Peter's fiction: War in 2020 and Red Army. I really had no idea that he wrote such serious essays about military-related topics until I was searching for literature after September 11th to answer the question: "What now"? This book is a collection of his military essays compiled after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and woven around the theme of American triumph in trying times.

I had to take a break after each chapter to think about the questions raised. Many of his assertions challenged my view of the world. He is trying to shake we idealists and optimists from our hallucinating state to view the harsh reality of the world around us.

How does the world treat young men who are raised as warriors (killers) from birth in perpetually warring societies? What options other than force does a superpower have against the amorphous and state-less threat of terrorism? Will urban warfare be the rule and not the exception in the 21st century? Is there any hope for global stability? And finally, will America triumph?

I liked how the preface focused specifically on the events of September 11th and the myths Peters feels were perpetuated in our popular culture as a result. But the rest of this book raises more questions than it does provide answers. To his credit though, anyone who holds up answers in these trying times is a liar or a fool or both.

Rating:
Summary: Few answers here, but many really good questions!
Review: I came upon this book after reading some of Peter's fiction: War in 2020 and Red Army. I really had no idea that he wrote such serious essays about military-related topics until I was searching for literature after September 11th to answer the question: "What now"? This book is a collection of his military essays compiled after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and woven around the theme of American triumph in trying times.

I had to take a break after each chapter to think about the questions raised. Many of his assertions challenged my view of the world. He is trying to shake we idealists and optimists from our hallucinating state to view the harsh reality of the world around us.

How does the world treat young men who are raised as warriors (killers) from birth in perpetually warring societies? What options other than force does a superpower have against the amorphous and state-less threat of terrorism? Will urban warfare be the rule and not the exception in the 21st century? Is there any hope for global stability? And finally, will America triumph?

I liked how the preface focused specifically on the events of September 11th and the myths Peters feels were perpetuated in our popular culture as a result. But the rest of this book raises more questions than it does provide answers. To his credit though, anyone who holds up answers in these trying times is a liar or a fool or both.

Rating:
Summary: READ THIS BOOK!
Review: If you're a citizen of the US, you need to read this book so you understand what's at stake; and what the real world is like outside our borders. There are no sound bites, instant gratification, feel their 'pain', or other such nonsense.

If you're a politician, read this book so you can get a clearer idea of where our foreign policy needs to go; quit hustling votes and LOOK at what we (the West) are facing. War is an extension of policy; and Mr. Peters quite adeptly shows where we need to stop talking and start hitting.

If you are a Military Professional, for your Troop's Sake, read this as a MANUAL OF ARMS. He doesn't have all the answers; but he certainly can give you a start on your mission-essential task list. The Marines are already codifying doctrine on the "Three Block War"; it's time get with the program. If you run into Senior Military Leadership that says we don't have a future in Urban Combat, avoid them like the plague.

We are in the for the fight our lives; and this book can reduce the casualties; Friend and Foe alike. He articulates what I personally saw happen in Iraq, Bosnia, Ethiopia and Somalia (9 months in Mogadishu alone). He has encapsulated the essence of what we have to do to ensure survival of our way of life.

He doesn't imbibe you with Patriotic Rhetoric, Mr Peters simply states that if we want to maintain the lifestyle we have, we'll have to fight for it; against people for which fighting is the ONLY thing they know. They don't want a lasting peace, they want a lasting piece of the action; on their terms, with no compromise or pity. Death and anarchy are a way of life, the groups described in his book exist and they don't want progress, they want the power of Gods. Unfortunately, these same people lack any type of conventional wisdom comensurate with that power.

In Somalia, I was branded as being too agressive in our operations; I wanted to pound on the Technicals until the survivors quit. Seven years later, the hindsight everyone employs seems to vindicate my stance. I questioned our presence in Somalia; but never the role we should have adopted once we committed Troops: Find the Bastards and Pile On.

Tracy-Paul Warrington Chief Warrant Officer (retired) US Army Special Forces

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Rating:
Summary: Add this book to your military history library
Review: Mr. Peters is a thoughtful and provokative commentator about war. The reader should be warned he believes in pulling together essays in this book without editing their orginal state. Thus, there is considerable repetition in many of the chapters. While annoying and somewhat distracting, it does not diminish the impart of his thoughts. He is an original in many ways in his thinking.

Rating:
Summary: Crisp Syntax
Review: Not the typical writing style of taking 50 pages and condensing it into 250. By and large, the syntax is crisp and only occasionally redundant. You'll like Peter's thinking, or you won't - not much in between. I found many oracles therein. This reader joins the author of Imperial Hubris in heralding Peters as on-target with regard to the need to align the military with reality - now and in the future. The book The Pentagon's New Map is also in line with his thoughts. There's some rumbling going on in the US military establishment. These guys are all part of it.

Rating:
Summary: The Right Questions: Good, Valuable Reading
Review: Over the years I haven't agreed with everything Ralph Peters has said and written but I do agree fundamentally with points and questions put forth in this book.

The world has changed and continues to change. The military and the Geo-political machine it is part of must change as well, and while there are not alot of solutions in this book - to be fair there are some - the book puts forth the right questions.

I espcially liked the material on global populations and urbanization, the effect of the media on combat, and the valuable discussion on leadership qualities.

This is good reading for officers, law enforcement, and the political branches.

Rating:
Summary: A must read for the forward thinking military person
Review: Over the years, I've read with interest LTC Peters' essays in Proceedings, the jounal of the US Army War College. If you have the courage to have your assumptions about warfare and the military challenged, this book is for you.