The Arab Military Option

The Arab Military Option
Author: Saad Shazly
Publisher: American Mideast Research
Total Pages: 366
Release: 1986
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780960456215

Analyse af den arabiske verdens muligheder for at genvinde de af Israel besatte territorier. Bogen gennemgår landenes politik, de væbnede styrker og våbenindustri med eventuelle kernevåben, såvel stærke som svage sider. Bogen fortæller også om supermagternes forhold til de konfliktramte stater og om verdensopinionen.

Armies of Sand

Armies of Sand
Author: Kenneth Michael Pollack
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 697
Release: 2019
Genre: History
ISBN: 0190906960

Since the Second World War, Arab armed forces have consistently punched below their weight. They have lost many wars that by all rights they should have won, and in their best performances only ever achieved quite modest accomplishments. Over time, soldiers, scholars, and military experts have offered various explanations for this pattern. Reliance on Soviet military methods, the poor civil-military relations of the Arab world, the underdevelopment of the Arab states, and patterns of behavior derived from the wider Arab culture, have all been suggested as the ultimate source of Arab military difficulties. Armies of Sand, Kenneth M. Pollack's powerful and riveting history of Arab armies from the end of World War Two to the present, assesses these differing explanations and isolates the most important causes. Over the course of the book, he examines the combat performance of fifteen Arab armies and air forces in virtually every Middle Eastern war, from the Jordanians and Syrians in 1948 to Hizballah in 2006 and the Iraqis and ISIS in 2014-2017. He then compares these experiences to the performance of the Argentine, Chadian, Chinese, Cuban, North Korean, and South Vietnamese armed forces in their own combat operations during the twentieth century. The book ultimately concludes that reliance on Soviet doctrine was more of a help than a hindrance to the Arabs. In contrast, politicization and underdevelopment were both important factors limiting Arab military effectiveness, but patterns of behavior derived from the dominant Arab culture was the most important factor of all. Pollack closes with a discussion of the rapid changes occurring across the Arab world-political, economic, and cultural-as well as the rapid evolution in war making as a result of the information revolution. He suggests that because both Arab society and warfare are changing, the problems that have bedeviled Arab armed forces in the past could dissipate or even vanish in the future, with potentially dramatic consequences for the Middle East military balance. Sweeping in its historical coverage and highly accessible, this will be the go-to reference for anyone interested in the history of warfare in the Middle East since 1945.

Evolution of the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates

Evolution of the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates
Author: Athol Yates
Publisher: Helion and Company
Total Pages: 382
Release: 2020-12-10
Genre: History
ISBN: 180451618X

While today the military of the United Arab Emirates is described admiringly as a 'little Sparta', just 60 years ago the only security forces in the Emirates were the armed retainers of the Ruling Sheikhs and a small British-led, locally-raised Arab force. Through a combination of direct oversight by rulers, investment in its nationals, engagement of expatriates and the purchase of cutting edge military hardware, the UAE Armed Forces has become, arguably, the most capable Arab military. In the last decade, it has also gained considerable experience through its military operations in Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq, Syria and Yemen. This book traces the little-known history of the country’s military from 1951 to 2020. It provides unparalleled detail on the constituent forces that evolved into the UAE Armed Forces in 1976, and how that unified force has evolved to the present. It provides essential background information on how the country’s geography, demographics and political system have shaped its military, the enduring roles of the military and the history of each military service. It also details the political and command structure governing the military, and its manpower and materiel characteristics. The book concludes with an explanation of how the UAE has been able to develop such a highly capable military for its size in a relatively short period of time.

Immortal

Immortal
Author: Steven R. Ward
Publisher: Georgetown University Press
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2014-01-15
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1626160651

Immortal is the only single-volume English-language survey of Iran’s military history. CIA analyst Steven R. Ward shows that Iran’s soldiers, from the famed “Immortals” of ancient Persia to today’s Revolutionary Guard, have demonstrated through the centuries that they should not be underestimated. This history also provides background on the nationalist, tribal, and religious heritages of the country to help readers better understand Iran and its security outlook. Immortal begins with the founding of ancient Persia’s empire under Cyrus the Great and continues through the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988) and up to the present. Drawing on a wide range of sources including declassified documents, the author gives primary focus to the modern era to relate the build-up of the military under the last Shah, its collapse during the Islamic revolution, its fortunes in the Iran-Iraq War, and its rise from the ashes to help Iran become once again a major regional military power. He shows that, despite command and supply problems, Iranian soldiers demonstrate high levels of bravery and perseverance and have enjoyed surprising tactical successes even when victory has been elusive. These qualities and the Iranians’ ability to impose high costs on their enemies by exploiting Iran’s imposing geography bear careful consideration today by potential opponents.

Rebuilding Arab Defense

Rebuilding Arab Defense
Author: Bilal Y. Saab
Publisher: Lynne Rienner Publishers
Total Pages:
Release: 2022
Genre: Middle East
ISBN: 9781955055390

"Explores the current state of US security cooperation in the Middle East, considering why the military capabilities of US allies in the region are still lacking and suggesting avenues for effective change"--

Endgames

Endgames
Author: Hicham Bou Nassif
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2020-10-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1108896782

The 2011 Arab Spring is the story of what happens when autocrats prepare their militaries to thwart coups but unexpectedly face massive popular uprisings instead. When demonstrators took to the streets in 2011, some militaries remained loyal to the autocratic regimes, some defected, whilst others splintered. The widespread consequences of this military agency ranged from facilitating transition to democracy, to reconfiguring authoritarianism, or triggering civil war. This study aims to explain the military politics of 2011. Building on interviews with Arab officers, extensive fieldwork and archival research, as well as hundreds of memoirs published by Arab officers, Hicham Bou Nassif shows how divergent combinations of coup-proofing tactics accounted for different patterns of military behaviour in 2011, both in Egypt and Syria, and across Tunisia, and Libya.

Arabs at War

Arabs at War
Author:
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
Total Pages: 732
Release: 2004-01-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 0803287836

Kenneth M. Pollack, formerly a Persian Gulf military analyst at the CIA and Director for Persian Gulf Affairs at the National Security Council, describes and analyzes theømilitary history of the six key Arab states?Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Syria?during the post?World War II era. He shows in detail how each Arab military grew and learned from its own experiences in response to the specific objectives set for it and within often constrained political, economic, and social circumstances. This first-ever overview of the modern Arab approach to warfare provides a better understanding of the capabilities and limitations of the Arab militaries, some of which are the United States? most likely adversaries, and some of which are our most important allies.

Arabs in the Shadow of Israel

Arabs in the Shadow of Israel
Author: Tony Maalouf
Publisher: Kregel Academic
Total Pages: 372
Release:
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780825493638

(Foreword by Eugene H. Merrill) A compelling call for Christians to rethink the role of Arabs—also descendents of Abraham and recipients of his blessing.

Muslim Americans in the Military

Muslim Americans in the Military
Author: Edward E. Curtis
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 102
Release: 2016-10-17
Genre: History
ISBN: 0253027217

Stories of Muslims who have served, dating back to the Revolutionary War. Since the Revolutionary War, Muslim Americans have served in the United States military, risking their lives to defend a country that increasingly looks at them with suspicion and fear. In Muslim Americans in the Military: Centuries of Service, Edward E. Curtis illuminates the long history of Muslim service members who have defended their country and struggled to practice their faith. With profiles of soldiers, marines, airmen, and sailors since the dawn of our country, Curtis showcases the real stories of Muslim Americans, from Omer Otmen, who fought fiercely against German forces during World War I, to Captain Humayun Khan, who gave his life in Iraq in 2004. These true stories contradict the narratives of hate and fear that have dominated recent headlines, revealing the contributions and sacrifices that these soldiers have made to the United States.

The Arab Israeli Dilemma

The Arab Israeli Dilemma
Author: Fred J. Khouri
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
Total Pages: 628
Release: 1985-09-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780815623403

This updated, and greatly expanded edition makes Khouri's work the best currently available study of the complex Arab-Israeli conflict. Here are several new chapters providing a thorough, well-documented examination of the critical events which have developed since 1976, as well as a detailed analysis of the views, actions, and policies of the contending parties and the Big Powers. A completely new index to the entire work is provided. The Arab-Israeli Dilemma is of major interest to policy makers, to scholars and students dealing with Middle Eastern affairs and international relations, to historians, and to all who are concerned with the issues of war and peace.