West Asia |
 | OPEN-SOURCE ANALYSIS OF IRAN’S MISSILE AND UAV CAPABILITIES AND PROLIFERATION By The International Institute for Strategic Studies
Ever since it acquired Scud-B missiles after its cities suffered
missile attacks during the 1980–88 Iran–Iraq War, Iran has
viewed ballistic missiles as vital to its defence. Lacking a
modern air force, Iran sees ballistic missiles, and increasingly land-attack cruise missiles (LACMs) and uninhabited
aerial vehicles (UAVs), as one means of balancing power.
The size and scope of Iran’s missile arsenal – the
largest and most diverse in the region – reflects the
priority Iran ...Read more > | 50 Pages 1.14 MB |
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 | THECOUNTDOWN TO AN ISRAELI WAR WITH IRAN HAS BEGUN By John Hannah
A small army of top Israeli national security officials descended on Washington last
week for their first in-person consultations with the Biden administration over its
intention to return to the Iran nuclear deal. Israel is adamantly opposed to the
agreement, arguing that in exchange for a pause in Tehran’s nuclear program, it
virtually guarantees that Iran can become a nuclear-weapons threshold state by the
time the deal expires in 2030, while immediately funneling billions of dollars ...Read more > | 5 Pages 141.51 KB |
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 | JUDGING THE IMPACT OF U.S. FORCE REDUCTIONS IN AFGHANISTAN, IRAQ, AND SYRIA By Anthony H. Cordesman
The U.S. has said remarkably little about how conditional its future plans to withdraw all forces in
Afghanistan are on the success of the peace process, whether it will provide adequate support for
Afghan military forces if the peace effort fails, or whether the U.S. plans to provide any security
guarantees and military aid if a peace agreement is reached. So far, all that is clear is that the official total of U.S. military personnel has dropped from ...Read more > | 9 Pages 1.22 MB |
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 | THE GOLAN HEIGHTS: WHAT'S AT STAKE WITH TRUMP'S RECOGNITION By Zachary Laub
President Donald J. Trump’s recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights
upends a half century of U.S. policy. The strategically important plateau has been
widely considered under international law to be occupied territory since its 1967
seizure from Syria. In his proclamation, Trump cited security needs as paramount,
though in practice Israeli control has not been challenged for ...Read more > | 8 Pages 540.16 KB |
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 | WHAT IS HEZBOLLAH? By Kali Robinson
Hezbollah wields significant power in Lebanon, where it operates as both a Shiite political party
and militant group.
It opposes Israel and Western powers operating in the Middle East, and it functions as a proxy of
Iran, its largest benefactor.
The group has faced unprecedented scrutiny from the Lebanese public amid the country’s political
and economic ...Read more > | 15 Pages 1.29 MB |
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 | THE CHANGING MILITARY DYNAMICS OF THE MENA REGION By Anthony H. Cordesman
The U.S. faces major challenges in its security relations with each state in the Middle East and
North Africa as well as from nations outside the MENA region. It still is the dominant outside
power in the region, but the security dynamics of the Middle East and North Africa have changed
radically over the last decade and will continue to change for the foreseeable future.
At the beginning of 2011, most MENA nations were at peace and seemed to be relatively stable.
North African countries ...Read more > | 62 Pages 2.69 MB |
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 | CONFLICT AND COOPERATION IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION By Michael D. Swaine
The Asia-Pacific region is undergoing enormous change, fueled by rapid levels of economic growth and competition alongside deepening levels of regional and global integration, significant demographic and income shifts in key ...Read more > | 286 Pages 1.43 MB |
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 | WEST ASIA IN 2015 By Amb Ranjit Gupta
Making predictions is a hazardous exercise however, it needs to be ventured. 2014 was particularly bleak for the Arab world but as the year ended there were increasing indications that the situation will steadily improve through ...Read more > | 27 Pages 494.28 KB |
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 | ASSESSING A DEAL OR NON-DEAL WITH IRAN By By Anthony H. Cordesman
It now seems unlikely that the P5+1 countries of the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany can reach a comprehensive agreement with Iran by the end of November. ...Read more > | 28 Pages 655.00 KB |
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 | IRAN’S NUCLEAR MISSILE DELIVERY CAPABILITY By Abdullah Toukan
Recently there has been a lot of attention given to the “Possible Military Dimension” of the Iran Nuclear Program, in particular concerns over Iran’s ballistic missile program and its nuclear delivery ...Read more > | 180 Pages 8.54 MB |
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