Download or read book The Gulf Military Balance written by Anthony H. Cordesman and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2014-03-12 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States faces major challenges in dealing with Iran, the threat of terrorism, and the tide of political instability in the Arabian Peninsula. The presence of some of the world’s largest reserves of oil and natural gas, vital shipping lanes, and Shia populations throughout the region have made the peninsula the focal point of US and Iranian strategic competition. Moreover, large youth populations, high unemployment rates, and political systems with highly centralized power bases have posed other economic, political, and security challenges that the Gulf states must address and that the United States must take into consideration when forming strategy and policy.
Download or read book US Gulf Iranian Competition written by and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The report highlights Iran's growing reliance on asymmetric warfare; absorbing the lessons of the counter-insurgency campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, it has sought to parlay the guerilla techniques of land warfare to other forms of conflict. Assessing US and US-equipped and - trained GCC forces as its major rivals, it has built its force posture around surviving their conventional superiority, denying them access to the Gulf, threatening commercial traffic, and targeting critical infrastructure in Gulf states (partly with missile forces that will be discussed in Part II of this balance). This updated report also addresses the issues that are likely to become major flashpoints in future US-Iranian competition, including proxies, drones, and cyber warfare. While all three of these have only emerged in the past year as aspects of true competition (proxies were almost exclusively Iranian, drones and cyberwar American), they provide a lower-cost avenue for the US and Iran to target each other. Combined with increased stress over the nuclear program and the Western-led sanctions regime, these irregular methods of competition have become the newest front for indirect yet costly signaling and pressure.
Download or read book The Gulf Military Balance written by Anthony H. Cordesman and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2014-03-12 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States faces major challenges in dealing with Iran, the threat of terrorism, and the tide of political instability in the Arabian Peninsula. The presence of some of the world’s largest reserves of oil and natural gas, vital shipping lanes, and Shia populations throughout the region have made the peninsula the focal point of US and Iranian strategic competition. Moreover, large youth populations, high unemployment rates, and political systems with highly centralized power bases have posed other economic, political, and security challenges that the Gulf states must address and that the United States must take into consideration when forming strategy and policy.
Download or read book The Gulf Military Balance written by Anthony H. Cordesman and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Gulf Military Balance written by Anthony H. Cordesman and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The report shows that the Gulf military balance is dominated by five major groups of military forces: the Southern Gulf states, Iran, Iraq, outside powers like the US, and non-state actors like the various elements of Al Qa'ida, the Mahdi militia, and various tribal forces. These forces are evolving in many ways. Iran now presents a major threat in terms of its asymmetric and proxy warfare assets, its growing missile arsenal and its potential nuclear capability. The growing political unrest and instability in the region is creating new internal security challenges. Domestic unrest in countries like Yemen could create new threats that cross the Saudi and Omani borders. The threat of terrorism has so far been contained, but remains all too real and has driven many regional states to make major increases in their paramilitary, security and special forces. The rising threats from asymmetric and proxy warfare, nuclear weapons, internal security threats, and terrorism make it difficult to assess the military balance. Hard numbers are only available on classic measures of conventional military strength or the total size of new force elements like paramilitary and missile forces. There is no clear way to measure the balance of conventional and irregular forces in asymmetric conflicts, or how missiles and proliferation will affect the balance.
Download or read book Iran and the Gulf Military Balance written by Anthony H. Cordesman and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Iran and the Gulf Military Balance written by Alexander Wilner and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: US competition with Iran has become the equivalent of a game of three-dimensional chess, but a game where each side can modify at least some of the rules with each move. It is also a game that has been going on for some three decades. It is clear that it is also a game that is unlikely to be ended by better dialog and mutual understanding, and that Iran's version of "democracy" is unlikely to change the way it is played in the foreseeable future. The most threatening form of US and Iranian competition takes place in the military and security arena. The US and Iran are military competitors in the Gulf, Indian Ocean, and Levant -- and in steadily wider areas as Iran expands its ballistic missile capabilities. Military competition occurs in ways where each nation seeks to deny the other side military options, and seeks to establish or reinforce containment, deterrence, and limits on escalation. It is also a competition for military prestige and status, and which seeks to use military forces to influence the behavior of other states. Military competition between the US and Iran will likely continue to intensify given the importance of the Gulf in global energy security, Iran's goals of becoming a regional power, and socio-political instability in the Middle East. Despite US conventional superiority, Iran's asymmetric strategy presents a unique challenge for US policy makers, as it hinges on bolstering and diversifying its unconventional, nuclear, and missile capabilities to undermine the US presence in the region. To compete with Iran most effectively, US decision-makers must carefully assess and address Iran's asymmetric strategy, as well as its perception of military competition.
Download or read book The Gulf Military Balance written by Anthony H. Cordesman and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula is the most important single theater in the US-Iranian strategic competition. The proximity of the Arab Gulf states to Iran; the region's geostrategic value to the stability of the global economy; the shifting military balance; and the social, demographic, and economic tensions that threaten to create political upheavals in several key states make it a potential flash-point in tensions between Washington and Tehran.
Download or read book From Alliance to Union written by Joseph A. Kéchichian and published by Liverpool University Press. This book was released on 2016-05-24 with total page 365 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After the conservative Arab Gulf Monarchies - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) - joined forces on 25 May 1981 within the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), few fathomed that security requirements on and around the Arabian Peninsula would be so precarious and for so long. To answer their search for permanent stability, Arab Gulf rulers erected a regional alliance that sought to integrate internal and regional defences, as well as strengthen their existing socio-economic ties. Several of the monarchies even hoped that co-ordination on foreign policy issues over which near unanimity existed could, eventually, lead to a full-fledged union as envisaged in the organisation's founding charter. Between 1981 and 2015 these Arab Gulf monarchies experienced major socio-political transformations resulting from upheavals throughout the Arab and Muslim worlds. The perceived necessity to bring about a full-fledged union has come into conflict with entrenched viewpoints from regimes that value traditional military/political roles and norms. In this new study, Joseph A. Kechichian provides an evaluation of GCC States' military institutions to better evaluate whether a stable alliance is capable of enduring over the next few decades, and how civilian leaders perceive the role and influence of their military officers for the task. Kechichian raises fundamental questions over internal, regional and international threats, including an existential challenge emanating from the Islamic revolutionary government of Iran, and assesses how GCC professionals may be preparing to tackle them. He further elucidates on the best methods to meet security challenges not only to secure political survival but also to determine whether conservative Arab Gulf regimes can flourish outside an effective alliance. The volume concludes with an examination of evolving civil-military relations in the GCC States.
Download or read book Maritime Security in the Indian Ocean and Western Pacific written by Howard M. Hensel and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-11-28 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Scholars and policy makers have traditionally viewed portions of the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific as separate and discrete political, economic, and military regions. In recent years, however, a variety of economic, political, and military forces have made many within the academic community, as well as a growing number of national governmental leaders, change their perceptions and recognize that these maritime expanses are one zone of global interaction. Consequently, political, military, and economic developments in one maritime region increasingly have an impact elsewhere. Analyzing and assessing the contemporary maritime challenges in the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific, this valuable study highlights the current prospects for peace and security in what is rapidly becoming recognized as an integrated and interactive political, military-strategic, and economic environment. This work will be of interest to researchers and policy makers involved in regional studies, as well as security studies, conflict resolution, military, and peace studies.
Download or read book US and Iranian Strategic Competition written by Anthony H. Cordesman and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The US faces major challenges in dealing with Iran, the threat of terrorism, and the tide of political instability in the Middle East. Following visits to the Gulf and discussions with top US, Gulf, and European officials by Burke Chair Anthony Cordesman, the Burke Chair at CSIS in Strategy is issuing an updated edition of its study on Iran's military threat in the Gulf, titled "The Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula." This new edition builds on previous Burke Chair reports, including: US and Iranian Strategic Competition: The Conventional and Asymmetric Dimensions--This study looks at Iran's Military forces in detail, and the balance of forces in the Gulf Region. US and Iranian Strategic Competition: The Missile and Nuclear--This study looks at Iran's Missile and Nuclear forces. "The Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula" examines in detail the Iranian military threat in the Gulf, as well as US-Gulf security cooperation with the Southern Gulf States. The report is written by Anthony H. Cordesman and Robert M. Shelala II, and is available on the CSIS web site at http://csis.org/files/publication/120228_Iran_Ch_VI_Gulf_State.pdf It examines the growing US security partnership with Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE--established as the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). It analyzes the steady growth in this partnership that has led to over $64 billion in new US arms transfer agreements during 2008-2011. It also examines the strengths and weaknesses of the security cooperation between the Southern Gulf states, and their relative level of political, social, and economic stability. The study focuses on the need for enhanced unity and security cooperation between the individual Gulf states. It finds that such progress is critical if they are to provide effective deterrence and defense against Iran. Improve their counterterrorism capabilities, and enhance other aspects of their internal security."--Publisher description.
Download or read book Squandered Opportunity written by Thomas Juneau and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2015-05-19 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Islamic Republic of Iran faced a favorable strategic environment following the US invasions of Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003. Its leadership attempted to exploit this window of opportunity by assertively seeking to expand Iran's interests throughout the Middle East. It fell far short, however, of fulfilling its long-standing ambition of becoming the dominant power in the Persian Gulf and a leading regional power in the broader Middle East. In Squandered Opportunity, Thomas Juneau develops a variant of neoclassical realism, a theory of foreign policy mistakes, to explore the causes and consequences of Iran's sub-optimal performance. He argues that while rising power drove Iranian assertiveness—as most variants of realism would predict—the peculiar nature of Iran's power and the intervention of specific domestic factors caused Iran's foreign policy to deviate, sometimes significantly, from what would be considered the potential optimal outcomes. Juneau explains that this sub-optimal foreign policy led to important and negative consequences for the country. Despite some gains, Iran failed to maximize its power, its security and its influence in three crucial areas: the Arab-Israeli conflict; Iraq; and the nuclear program. Juneau also predicts that, as the window of opportunity steadily closes for Iran, its power, security, and influence will likely continue to decline in coming years.
Download or read book Armies of Arabia written by Zoltan Barany and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021-09-17 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Armies of Arabia is the first comprehensive analysis of the Gulf monarchies' armed forces, including their political, social, and economic characteristics, foreign relations, and battleground performance. The Arabian Peninsula is among the most strategically and economically important areas in the world, but its militaries remain terra incognita. In Armies of Arabia - the first book to comprehensively analyze the Gulf monarchies' armed forces - Zoltan Barany explains their notorious ineffectiveness with a combination of political-structural and sociocultural factors. Drawing on over 150 interviews and meticulous multidisciplinary research, Barany paints a fascinating portrait of Arabia's armies from Ibn Saud's Ikhwan to the present. He explores the methods ruling families employ to ensure their armies' loyalty, examines the backgrounds and career trajectories of soldiers and officers, and explains the monarchies' reliance on mercenaries and the enduring importance of tribal networks. Even though no other world region spends more on security, Arabia's armies remain ineffective because of an absence of meritocracy, the domination of personal connections over institutional norms, insipid leadership, a casual work ethic, and training that lacks intensity, frequency, and up-to-date scenarios. Massive weapons acquisitions are primarily pay-offs to the US for protecting them and have resulted in bloated and inappropriate arsenals and large-scale corruption. Barany explains why the Gulf Cooperation Council has been a squandered opportunity and examines the kingdoms' military relationships with the Arab world and beyond. The performance of the Saudi-led coalition's disastrous war in Yemen starkly illustrates the Gulf armies' humiliating combat record. The book concludes with thoughts on waste (of human potential, resources, institutions) as a dominant theme of Gulf military affairs, considers likely changes in response to long-term weakening demand for oil, and suggests ways in which the armies' effectiveness could be raised. Chock-full of insights and stories from the field and written with a general audience in mind, Armies of Arabia will be essential reading for anyone interested in military affairs and Middle Eastern politics, society, and international relations.
Download or read book A Time to Attack written by Matthew Kroenig and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2014-05-13 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Iran's advanced nuclear program may be the world's most important emerging international security challenge. If not stopped, a nuclear-capable Iran will mean an even more crisis-prone Middle East, a potential nuclear-arms race in the region and around the world, and an increased risk of nuclear war against Israel and the United States, among many other imminent global threats. Matthew Kroenig, internationally recognized as one of the world's leading authorities on Iran's nuclear program, explains why we need to take immediate steps to a diplomatic and, if necessary, a military solution - now - before Iran makes any further nuclear advances. A Time to Attack provides an authoritative account of the history of Iran's nuclear program and the international community's attempts to stop it. Kroenig explains and assesses the options available to policymakers, and reflects on what the resolution of the Iranian nuclear challenge will mean for the future of international order. This dramatic call to action provides an insider's account of what is being said in Washington about what our next move must be as the crisis continues to develop.
Download or read book Iran written by Anthony H. Cordesman and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2014-02-14 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report analyzes four key aspects of US and Iranian strategic competition--sanctions, energy, arms control, and regime change. Its primary focus is on the ways in which the sanctions applied to Iran have changed US and Iranian competition since the fall of 2011. This escalation has been spurred by the creation of a series of far stronger US unilateral sanctions and the European Union’s imposition of equally strong sanctions, both of which affect Iran’s ability to export, its financial system, and its overall economy.
Download or read book Survival April May 2021 Facing Russia written by 0 The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-04-14 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Survival, the IISS’s bimonthly journal, challenges conventional wisdom and brings fresh, often controversial, perspectives on strategic issues of the moment. In this issue: Marcus Willett examines Russia’s SolarWinds hack and the painful lessons it holds for the United States In a special forum, seven experts consider the purpose and effectiveness of the United Nations, as well as the intricacies of Security Council reform, on its 75th anniversary Peter Rudolf argues that the United States’ perception of China as a revisionist strategic rival will complicate transatlantic policy coordination Ray Takeyh considers whether the US intelligence community bungled assessments of Iran’s political stability in the late 1970s And six more thought-provoking pieces, as well as our regular Book Reviews and Noteworthy column. Editor: Dr Dana Allin Managing Editor: Jonathan Stevenson Associate Editor: Carolyn West Assistant Editor: Jessica Watson
Download or read book Captive Society written by Saeid Golkar and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2015-06-16 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Iran's Organization for the Mobilization of the Oppressed (Sazeman-e Basij-e Mostazafan), commonly known as the Basij, is a paramilitary organization used by the regime to suppress dissidents, vote as a bloc, and indoctrinate Iranian citizens. Captive Society surveys the Basij's history, structure, and sociology, as well as its influence on Iranian society, its economy, and its educational system. Saied Golkar's account draws not only on published materials—including Basij and Revolutionary Guard publications, allied websites, and blogs—but also on his own informal communications with Basij members while studying and teaching in Iranian universities as recently as 2014. In addition, he incorporates findings from surveys and interviews he conducted while in Iran.
