Arabs at War: Military Effectiveness, 1948-1991 (Studies in War, Society, and the Militar)
As the U.S. rather publicly contemplates a strike against Iraq,  Kenneth M. Pollack, the Council on Foreign Relations' deputy  director for National Security Studies, offers a frank and  statistically based historical assessment of Iraq's performance  in war, along with the performances of Egypt, Jordan, Libya,  Audi Arabia and Syria. Arabs at War: Military Effectiveness,  1948-1991 begins with the first of Egypt's engagements with  Israel, and ends with the Gulf War, devoting a chapter each to  the aforementioned nations (Iraq gets more than 100 pages), and  focusing on everything from preparedness to unit cohesion. While  it is often more technical than most readers will want, expect  journalists to be combing the book (which includes 36 maps) in  search of backstory.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.