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In the no-holds-barred tradition that has won him so many fans across the nation and around the world, best-selling author and strategist Ralph Peters confronts the crucial security issues of our time--and the troubled times to come. With his trademark clarity and force, Peters argues that we have left behind the Age of Ideologies to enter a violent period in which ethnicity and religion--blood and faith--will continue to be the source of ferocious rebellions, genocide, and global terrorism. His compelling vision spares neither our foreign policy nor our domestic follies as he ruthlessly outlines what it will take to protect our country against this new breed of enemies.
Despite these challenges, the United States will remain the world's most successful and greatest power--but the cost will be determined by our willingness to face a new century's brutal realities.
Wars of Blood and Faith continues the ever popular series of work by Ralph Peters on strategy, conflict, and the military published by Stackpole Books--titles that have not only excited and informed a wide range of readers, but have profoundly influenced our national security.
Introduction: Where We Are Now x
Part I The Twenty-First Century Military
The Shape of Wars to Come 3
Living, and Dying, with Suicide Bombers 15
Shattering Warfare's Rules 18
Heroes with Bulldozers 20
Bloodless Theories, Bloody Wars 23
Hawks for Dissent 30
Why Clausewitz Had It Backward 38
The Hearts-and-Minds Myth 46
The Myth of Immaculate Warfare 54
Studying War 57
Politically Correct War 60
The Man Who Wouldn't Listen 64
Killing with Kindness 67
Letter to the New Secretary 75
Quantitative Incompetence 78
Rebels and Religion 81
Progress and Peril 90
Part II Iraq and Its Neighbors
What Now, Lieutenant?: Another Day in Iraq 101
Does Iran Want War? 111
Blood Borders: How a Better Middle East Would Look 115
Kill, Don't Capture 123
Back to Baghdad 126
Arabs' Last Chance 129
Afghan Reality 132
9/11: Five Years On 135
Is Pakistan Coming Apart? 139
Cradle of Hate 142
Kill Muqtada Now 145
Last Gasps in Iraq 147
Plan B for Iraq 151
Iraq's Uncivil War 161
The Iraq Mutiny? 164
From Metternich to Jim Baker: The High Price of Restoring the Ancien Regime 167
Why They Got It Wrong 171
A Lesson for Tyrants 175
King David Returns 178
Eyeing Iran 181
W's Last Chance 184
Talk Is Cheap 187
Ugly Choices: Tough Bets in Mideast 190
Sunni Vs. Shi'a: It's Not All Islam 194
Part III The Home Front
Spies & Lies 199
Our Strategic Intelligence Problem 203
Secrets for Sale-Cheap 211
Lynching the Marines 214
The New Combatants 217
Part IV Israel's Struggle
Kicking Out Corruption 233
Tragedy of Errors 236
Israel's New Fear 239
Can Israel Win? 242
Target: Hezbollah 246
The Roadto Qana 249
Defying Terror 252
Soldiers' Grit in "Organized Mess" of War 254
Watching the War 257
Ghost Towns of War 260
NYer Hangs Tough 263
Destination: Stalemate 265
Bloody Border 268
Lessons So Far 271
Hezbollah 3, Israel 0 274
Moment of Truth 278
Lessons from Lebanon: The New Model Terrorist Army 282
Part V The World Beyond
Waters of Wealth and War: The Crucial Indian Ocean 293
The "Cartoon Riots": Bigots on Both Sides 302
The Worst Plague 305
Emerging Hot Spots 308
Democracy's Global Crisis 310
Russian Roulette 314
French Twisted 316
Nigerian Nightmare 319
The Undecided Continent: The New Struggle for Africa 322
The "Eurabia" Myth 332
The Damned of Darfur 335
Terror's Surprise Loss-Islamists Fold in Somalia 338
Terrorizing Terrorists 341
Strategic Invisibility 344
Return of the Tribes 356
Overview
In the no-holds-barred tradition that has won him so many fans across the nation and around the world, best-selling author and strategist Ralph Peters confronts the crucial security issues of our time--and the troubled times to come. With his trademark clarity and force, Peters argues that we have left behind the Age of Ideologies to enter a violent period in which ethnicity and religion--blood and faith--will continue to be the source of ferocious ...