Customer Reviews

Fighting for the Future: Will America Triumph?

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This book should be read by every citizen in this country - yesterday. Peters' essays point the way to a much-needed revolution in American social, cultural, political and military thinking. His book describes the ultimatum technological change and social breakdown confront us with: recognize the suicidal implications of our current world view and take an uncompromising look at the developing dangers around the world confronting this country. Had "Fighting" been read and understood by the previous administration in the White House, the brutally effective attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon might well have been precluded. Kirkus Review's pedantic nitpickings obscure the life and death realities delineated in "Fighting." For anyone with an open mind, this book is impossible to put down.

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

tracy.warrington@60mdg.travis.af.mil

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.

I was given this book by a friend of mine who is a West Point grad and now an international businessman. As soon as I read it, I got the point: The author's observations about the causes of violence in societies, the nature of conflict, and, above all, why some groups and states prosper while others fail simply ring true to anyone who has actually seen anything of the greater world first-hand. Given that the essays in this book were written back in the nineties, almost every one is amazingly prescient--he even discusses, briefly, a terrorist attack on lower Manhattan. The picture Peters draws for us isn't pretty, but it's brutally honest and directly helpful--unlike the nonsense turned out by the campus crowd. This is the real thing, about the real world--and the book is remarkably well written, as well. I recommend reading it a chapter at a time and thinking about it--but, above all, I strongly recommend reading it. For me, personally, it just may become one of the most influential books I've ever read. No doubt it's useful to military officers and diplomats, but it's also a first-rate primer on conflict and crisis for anyone who does business in the developing world. Absolutely first-rate!

In this book, Ralph Peters has assembled a masterful series of articles which he wrote over the past several years. The purpose of this effort is to describe the nature of the threats US interests and citizens have faced since the end of the Cold War and will continue to face in the future. Peters uses bare knuckled clarity to explain that these challenges can't be dealt with by technology and gadgets alone. He makes a compelling case that these new threats challenge our very moral, ethical and legal foundations. And we'd better figure what to do about them! It's not hyperbole when people describe Peters as one of the foremost strategic thinkers of our time. This is not a work of scholarly research. Rather, it's the culmination of a life of scholarly observation - of disaffected and downwardly mobile guys with guns. This is an insightful, well written, perception-altering book. Read it and the evening news will never be the same!

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.

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.

Sharp and to the point, those are the words that I would use to describe this author. My romantic view of a grisly old military vet with equal numbers of battle scares to chips on his shoulder is jump started by this book. The author gives the reader his view of the world from the late 1990's to the 9 / 11 attacks. His main focus is the U.S. military and the possible conflicts it will need to be engaged in over the next decade or so. He also opines on some social trends that, although marginally effect the U.S. security equation, seamed to me to be a bit of a stretch. The author is excellent at describing military issues, but I felt myself viewing his writing on social trends with a skeptical eye. I felt the prism he was looking through was one a bit bias toward viewing a world where all motives lead to military conflict

The comments he has on the focus of the U.S. military is eerie given the Iraq war. If you have followed the current conflict then you will be struck by how so many chapters of the book pretty much give a run down of how the conflict would turn out and the pit falls that awaited the U.S, all this two years before the war started. I can understand how many of the top tier military commanders today have a negative view of the author because he does not mix words. He lets the reader know that many decisions that are being made today and that have been made over the past ten years, were to fight an enemy that does not exist. Judging by this authors book, nothing short of a full revamping of the current structure of the military is needed. New weapons systems, equipment, training and force make up are just the start. The author spells out so many areas of weakness given our new enemy of disaffected and religiously inspired mercenaries that that you wonder how we are going to truly suppress and overcome the enemies in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Overall I found the book interesting and insightful. Sure not all of the themes of the book are original thought, but the author has just the right mix of good ideas, fiery bombast, and old fashioned common sense that you can do nothing less then stand up and pay attention. Large organizations are slow to change, the larger the more time they take. What this author tells us and what the 9 / 11 attacks showed us is that we need to actively change how we view the new enemy. My concern is that the needed changes the U.S. military and intelligence gathering organizations are facing will be at a far slower pace then the new tactics of the terrorists. If you are interested in the U.S. military and the warfare we are going to be viewing on CNN over the next 20 years then you will enjoy this book.

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.

[My retirement as an intelligence officer was in 1996. Working today as a computer combat simulations and modeling manager - my bookshelves are stacked with the assembled works of Ralph Peters. Computer modeling of urban combat has shown me how prescient he was.]

As a military (Intelligence) contemporary of Ralph Peters - I thank God he saw fit to leave the Army and publish, publish and publish again - as only one who has worn the uniform can - and speak to us as an informed visionary - as only he could. "Fighting for the Future" is a compendium of essays, speeches and articles that gave to us in the mid-90's - a road map to the future of assymetrical warfare. While not 100% accurate as to what is happening 10 years later - his choices of topics have immense importance to the military's current war on Islamo-Fascism.

Mostly ignored by a succession of Army Chiefs of Staff - and even many within the Army Intelligence community - Colonel Peters leads us down a path with his material - to the present day IEDs exploding along "Route Irish", from the Green Zone to Baghdad International Airport. His vision of "trans-national un-uniformed (stateless) fighters" in urban combat - hammering against cold war structured armies - take us directly to November 2004 Fallujah. Every flaming military convoy vehicle brings me back to book chapters on the future of urban warfare combat vehicles.

These chapters remind me over and over again that the tragically miscast up-armored HMMWV (M1114) was never intended to be an assault vehicle and the Stryker wheeled APC/IFV is out of its element in any urban fight. Peters bucks the trend - the current thinking - the group think - that obstructs our military planning and procurement. Trust me as one who knows - you can't get promoted in today's Army thinking, talking and acting like Ralph Peters.

Every chapter is a work unto itself. The ideas provoke - make you search - and lead you to some pretty astounding conclusions for a piece of writing originally put to paper almost 10 years ago. A piece of literature for historians and military leaders alike. Those who follow trends in military policies, planning, tactics, strategy and affairs - this book is for you!

My autographed copies come from the Army Command and General Staff College library at Ft. Leavenworth, KS. You don't have to make the trip - Amazon can do it for you...