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The Coming Revolution: Struggle for Freedom in the Middle East
After the 9/11 Commission concluded in 2004 that the U.S. was engaged in a war with terrorists and never realized it, they reasoned that “a failure of imagination” had prevented us from seeing terrorism coming. In effect, Americans were simply unable, or in fact disabled, to fathom that there were people who hated and opposed our democracy with such ferocity. But after billions of dollars and almost a decade fighting a war in the Middle East, will we miss the threat again?
With penetrating insight and candor, Walid Phares, Fox News terrorism and Middle East expert and a specialist in global strategies, argues that a fierce race for control of the Middle East is on, and the world’s future may depend on the outcome. Yet not a failure of imagination, but rather, of education has left Americans without essential information on the real roots of the rising Jihadi threat. Western democracies display a dangerous misunderstanding of precisely who opposes democracy and why. In fact, the West ignores the wide and disparate forces within the Muslim world—including a brotherhood against democracy that is fighting to bring the region under totalitarian control—and crucially underestimates the determined generation of youth feverishly waging a grassroots revolution toward democracy and human rights.
As terror strikes widen from Manhattan to Mumbai and battlefields rage from Afghanistan to Iraq, many tough questions are left unanswered, or even Where are the anti-Jihadists and the democrats in the Muslim world? Does the Middle East really reject democracy? Do the peoples of the region prefer the Taliban, the Muslim Brotherhood, or Hezbollah over liberals and seculars? And is there really no genuine hope that freedom and democracy can prevail over the Islamist caliphate?
Phares explores how the free world can indeed win the conflict with the Jihadists, but he says, not by using the tactics, policies, and strategies it has employed so far. He urges policy makers to first identify the threat and define its ideology, or there will be no victory.
T he Coming Revolution is a vital corrective step in the world’s war against terrorism and essential reading that clearly and explosively illustrates the untold story of a struggle to determine if the Middle East can at last reach freedom in this century—or if this planet can prevent the otherwise inevitable outcome that could change our social and political landscape forever. The race is on.
With penetrating insight and candor, Walid Phares, Fox News terrorism and Middle East expert and a specialist in global strategies, argues that a fierce race for control of the Middle East is on, and the world’s future may depend on the outcome. Yet not a failure of imagination, but rather, of education has left Americans without essential information on the real roots of the rising Jihadi threat. Western democracies display a dangerous misunderstanding of precisely who opposes democracy and why. In fact, the West ignores the wide and disparate forces within the Muslim world—including a brotherhood against democracy that is fighting to bring the region under totalitarian control—and crucially underestimates the determined generation of youth feverishly waging a grassroots revolution toward democracy and human rights.
As terror strikes widen from Manhattan to Mumbai and battlefields rage from Afghanistan to Iraq, many tough questions are left unanswered, or even Where are the anti-Jihadists and the democrats in the Muslim world? Does the Middle East really reject democracy? Do the peoples of the region prefer the Taliban, the Muslim Brotherhood, or Hezbollah over liberals and seculars? And is there really no genuine hope that freedom and democracy can prevail over the Islamist caliphate?
Phares explores how the free world can indeed win the conflict with the Jihadists, but he says, not by using the tactics, policies, and strategies it has employed so far. He urges policy makers to first identify the threat and define its ideology, or there will be no victory.
T he Coming Revolution is a vital corrective step in the world’s war against terrorism and essential reading that clearly and explosively illustrates the untold story of a struggle to determine if the Middle East can at last reach freedom in this century—or if this planet can prevent the otherwise inevitable outcome that could change our social and political landscape forever. The race is on.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published November 22, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 27, 2011
Although the first half of the book was annoying due to Phares' human rights propaganda campaign, the second half of the book was very informative in seeking to explain the underlying issues in each individual countries.
I think what is unique about this book is the author's emphasis on ethnic minority rights as a barometer of a countries democracy. Although at times he seems preachy on the minority rights issue, I think it makes sense that once Pan-Arab regimes allow ethnic minority rights then one can expect individual rights under the law to be respected too.
Furthermore, what he suggest in engaging indigenous democrats in the region makes sense to me. What I am apprehensive about is his call for the US create a policy of vocally promoting democracy outside the National Security Policy. He already knows that Middle Easterners will cry that the US is interfering in internal affairs so why add oil to the fire.
He also states that 9/11 was the catalyst that forced America to wake up from its cheap oil-induced complacency in order to rhetorically promote democracy in the middle east.
I think what is unique about this book is the author's emphasis on ethnic minority rights as a barometer of a countries democracy. Although at times he seems preachy on the minority rights issue, I think it makes sense that once Pan-Arab regimes allow ethnic minority rights then one can expect individual rights under the law to be respected too.
Furthermore, what he suggest in engaging indigenous democrats in the region makes sense to me. What I am apprehensive about is his call for the US create a policy of vocally promoting democracy outside the National Security Policy. He already knows that Middle Easterners will cry that the US is interfering in internal affairs so why add oil to the fire.
He also states that 9/11 was the catalyst that forced America to wake up from its cheap oil-induced complacency in order to rhetorically promote democracy in the middle east.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 16, 2013
This could have been a very good book describing liberals and democracy promoters in the Middle East region. Unfortunately, the author spends most of the book weaving conspiracy theories about why the Middle Eastern liberals are never successful in politics. He seems to blame the U.S. and western countries both for not intervening and for intervening too much in the affairs of the region. But, it seems that no matter what approach is taken, the revolutionaries that the author supports never seem to come out on top. He tries to explain why this is, but doesn't have any satisfactory conclusions. I'm afraid the real reason is that the forces for change that the author sees only represent a small minority in the countries studied; far too few to be influential. There is a still a case that could be made for western support for these fledgling liberals, and the author could have written about how to strengthen these forces such that they could win wide-spread support in their societies. Unfortunately, that isn't the book the author wrote.
April 29, 2013
A few points from this book: it was published in 2010, before any inkling of what would happen in the Arab world was in the minds of analysts, academics and political figures; it is a simplistic (sometimes overly simplistic) account of various countries in the region that provides basic information that is useful, but I wish Phares would have delved deeper into some of his arguments - the afterword is probably the best part but could have used a lot more details to flesh out the main ideas; Phares gives voice to the groups in the region struggling for pluralistic society at the expense of those controlling the current systems of government, but there wasn't a lot of new information here for people who study the region in depth. I mainly enjoyed it because it shed light on marginalized groups and because it was fascinating to read it now that the Arab uprisings are under way.
September 23, 2011
This book was pretty good. The only detractor is the habit of Dr. Phares of noting so many times in the book "I told you so!" or "I predicted this would happen". He doesn't say it quite that explicitly but he does imply it a lot.
July 1, 2012
He predicts the Arab Spring and publishes this book in early 2010, but of course, no one saw this coming, except for everyone in academia.
December 29, 2013
The coming revolution means the coming waves of changes on the region both Tamazgha (North Africa) & Middle East.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews