New Glory: Expanding America's Global Supremacy

In the mid-1990's, Ralph Peters published repeated articles in military scholarly journals and relentlessly prowled the corridors of war colleges preaching a message that many did not choose to hear at the time--that the United States military would soon face enemies whose ruthlessness and rejection of the rules of warfare would pose a threat to our military and nation that few would be prepared to meet. He was right then, and he is equally on the mark in "New Glory," in which he brilliantly analyzes the challenges and threats we now face in the Global War on Terror, in Iraq, and at home, where our country is most vulnerable to self-defeat, while reminding readers that America today has the opportunity to play a transforming role in the world. Readers should expect bold, even brash, statements, devoid of the anesthesia of the politically correct, a prodigious knowledge of history and use of its lessons to buttress Peters' case, and many unforgettable moments when Peters' powerful logic drives home a point with Krauthammerlike precision, usually an insight that the reader would like to have thought of himself. A unique contribution by one of our few original thinkers.

I have been a fan of Ralph Peters writing for years and he does not dissapoint with his latest effort, NEW GLORY. Ralph Peters is a national treasure. Unlike so many of the "experts" in academia and the media (as typified by the Publishers Weekly reviewer above - anonymus, it figures) Ralph Peters has walked the walk. He consistantly travels alone to places our diplomats fear to tread and comes back with fresh and insightful views on the world. A lot of the book deals with his analysis of the war on terror and as a veteran of both ENDURING FREEDOM in Afghanistan and IRAQI FREEDOM I can tell you that his criticisms of what went awry in both campaigns are spot on. He is also devestating in his commentary in reference to the "anti war left". Ralph Peters only true loyalty is to the United States and the soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines who serve. If you want to learn why we are where we are in the current conflict and what we must do to win it, this is the book for you. Ralph Peters also provides witty, scathing analysis of our European "Allies" and the Islamic world. What makes this book (indeed, most of Peter's writings) so good is that in addition to everything else, parts of it are downright funny. (Like hearing the theme to "Exodus" in the muzak of a gulf arab hotel). One of the most interesting parts of the book was his take on Africa. Unlike many of our sterile international studies community (who parrot each other), Ralph Peters takes an unexpected position when he refuses to write Africa off as a basket case. His hopeful analysis for this troubled contenint was perhaps the most surprising thing in this book. All in all, a great read. I reccomend this book highly. Reading Ralph Peters works has always been educational and entertaining, never more so than with this latest effort.

Ralph Peters is more compelling than Tom Friedman, goes deeper than Robert Kaplan, runs the numbers as well as Clyde Prestowitz, and runs as many risks as Robert Young Pelton. All of these men are among the best and the brightest of our generation. Ralph Peters is first among these equals. New Glory is most devastating in its professional appreciation of the crash of Islamic civilization and the hollowness of Europe, with Germany and France coming in for special scorn. While Peters is acutely sensitive to the mistakes that France and Germany have made with immigration--allowing millions to immigrate without enfranchising them or assuring their loyalty as citizens--he tends to overlook the same faults in the US and the UK, and this is my only criticism: patriot that he is, he tends to downplay US errors and misbehavior. Having said that, I would also say there is no finer observer of reality outside the US than Ralph Peters. Like his earlier book, Beyond Terror, Peters again excels with gifted turns of phrase that sound like pure poetry. Peters is not just a grand strategist equal to the likes of Scowcroft or Brzezinski (while less diplomatic than they), he is a gifted orator and his book reads as if one were in the Greek Senate listening to Socrates hold forth. Especially strong in this book is the author's focus on Africa and Latin America as area rich with potential that the Americans are ignoring. Instead of obsessing on assassinating Chavez, as moronic an idea as there ever was, we should be focusing on how to include Africa and Latin America in our free trade zone, along with India and Japan. Peters jumps into the intellectual stratosphere when he takes on the issue of bad borders, the cancerous heritage of colonialism. I would recommend that the book by Philip Allott, "Health of Nations," and also the book by Jed Babbin, "Inside the Asylum" (on the UN) be read along with this book. I would add Mark Palmer's book on "The Real Axis of Evil" as well, about the 44 dictators we support. Taken together, perhaps adding Joe Nye's book on "Understanding International Conflicts" to have a really fine grasp of current challenges. Peters, author of a novel about treasonous defense contractors, comes out in the open with his sharp criticism of the military-industrial complex, pointing out that they are among the worst enemies of our national defense. Their corruption, legalized by a Congress all too eager to take its standard 2.5% to 5% "cut" on delivered pork, diverts tens of billions of dollars from education, infrastructure, border control, public health, and other sources of national power. When added to light-weight decision-making at the very top, where we go to war and waste thousands of lives and over $187 billion dollars on a war that was both unnecessary and pathologically in favor of Iranian ambitions against Iraq, one can quickly see that General Eisenhower and General Smedley Butler ("war is a Racket") were both correct--we

I tell people the reason I'm so ugly is becuase I spend my nights reading books like NEW GLORY instead of getting my rest. Well, who needs sleep when we've got commentary like this on world affairs? Those who've read Mr. Peters' essays will not be disappointed here. NEW GLORY is Ralph Peters at his lucid, succinct, devastating best. Think-tankers, bureaucrats, leftists and neocons alike, and all the armchair dilettantes who infest the airwaves will not like this book because Mr. Peters pillories them mercilessly. Those people will feel threatened by Mr. Peters' ideas on what's wrong with our military and foreign policies and how to correct them. That is because they are the product of many years' actual experience as a soldier and world traveler, not academia or the E-Ring of the Pentagon or any of those other ivory towers where eggheads seek refuge from reality. One wonders if the hard, practical and cogent advice he gives here will have any effect on our current leadership. I doubt it, they're too deep into the swamp they've made of affairs. But I think the true value of a book like NEW GLORY is that it's aimed at the dynamic young men and women who will compose the next generation of leaders, capable young people who do know a hawk from a handsaw. If I'm right there is a new glory waiting us and Mr. Peters is its prophet.

Ralph Peters has a bit of Mark Twain in him -- a love of words, the ability to turn a startingly clear-eyed phrase, and a 'pen warmed in hell' for the targets of his wrath. Read the book for the prose, for the insights, and for the unblinkng forthrightness of his analyses. You may not agree with his every point, but you cannot help but catch your breath at the sweep and depth of his commentary on world affairs and the forces driving them today. Peters will be sure to have every big gun inside the beltway after him for this one, his non-partisan bite on all things hypocritical and plain wrong-headed is that sharp. Don't settle for a second-hand critique of his book, however. It deserves to be read for itself and not translated to the public by those who would care to put their own slant on what is an outstanding original.