12 Myths of 21st Century War

[tequila]

Ralph Peters turns this kind of article out in his sleep. Strawmen battled with assertion and invective.

[Granite_State]

Ralph Peters turns this kind of article out in his sleep. Strawmen battled with assertion and invective.

Yup, that sums it up pretty well. I met Peters once, and he was both very intelligent and gracious, but whenever I read his articles...so much vitriol, anything meaningful gets lost fast. He's the defense/foreign policy Ann Coulter, another person who's undoubtedly smarter than she seems and acts, and knows how to play to the crowd (of idiots) she caters to. Maybe I'll tackle one of his books when I have some time in a few months, but the shorter stuff sure doesn't provide much of an inducement to do so.

[patmc]

I first read a Peters book 5 or 6 years ago while a cadet at Fort Knox. Some of his stuff is dead on, some over the top. It can be hit or miss, but generally he has a unique perspective. Most of his books are collections of his essays or articles, so you may not enjoy them all that much.

Maybe I'll tackle one of his books when I have some time in a few months, but the shorter stuff sure doesn't provide much of an inducement to do so.

[Fuchs]

I tend to agree with myths #8 and #10. These points need to be carefully interpreted, though. Many people draw wrong conclusions.

The other myths seem to be deliberately made up to discredit those who hold similar but not identical positions by manipulating those positions into something that's wrong.

#6, #8 and #10-12 are not really about warfare, but about politics and societies.

I remember Peters as someone who does occasionally throw some interesting point into the public discussion (albeit not often something I'd agree to).
I also remember him advocating some quite barbaric and xenophobic ideas.
He's certainly no-one I'd recommend for negotiating/mediating in a complex conflict.