Books by Anthony H. Cordesman

Iraq is a nation in crisis bordering on civil war. The country now faces growing violence, a steady rise in Sunni Islamist extremism, an increasingly authoritarian leader that favors Iraq's Sunnis, and growing ethnic tension between Arabs and Kurds Iraq in Crisis examines Iraq's problems in 2014 and projects possible future trends.

This report from the CSIS Burke Chair in Strategy examines trends in Chinese strategy, military spending, and military forces based on Chinese defense white papers and other official Chinese sources; US reporting by the Department of Defense and other defense agencies; and other government sources, including Japanese and Korean defense white papers and the International Monetary Fund.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The reality of the Arab-Israeli balance consists of two subordinate balances: Israel versus Syria and Israel versus the Palestinians. This book analyzes these two balances and their impact on defense planning in each country and on the overall strategic risk to the region as a whole.

After more than a decade of fighting in Afghanistan, the United States and its allies are set to transfer security responsibilities to Afghan forces in 2014. This transition poses many challenges, and much will depend on the future of Afghan politics, governance, corruption, development, security, and economics. How the United States manages the transition is vital for any hopes of creating a secure Afghanistan, as well as preventing the reemergence of the Taliban and other terrorist groups. The Afghan War in 2013 honestly assesses the benefits, costs, and risks involved in transition. It is essential reading for an in-depth understanding of the complex forces and intricacies of the United States¿ role in Afghanistan and the difficulties involved in creating a stable Afghanistan in 2014 and beyond. Afghanistan is still at war and will probably be at war long after 2014. At the same time, the coming cuts in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and cuts in military and civil aid, along with the country¿s fractious politics and insecurity, will interact with a wide range of additional factors that threaten to derail the transition. These factors, examined in this three-volume study, highlight the need to make the internal political, governmental, economic, and security dimensions of the transition as effective as possible. This will require a new degree of realism about what the Afghans can and cannot accomplish, about the best approaches to shaping the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), and the need for better planned and managed outside aid.

Noted Middle East military expert Anthony H. Cordesman details the complex trends that come into play in determining the military balance in a region that has become so critical to world peace. This ready resource provides a wealth of information on military expenditures and major arms systems, as well as qualitative trends, by country and by zone. However, as Cordesman stresses, because the greater Middle East is more a matter of rhetoric than military reality, mere data summarizing trends in 23 different countries is no substitute for a substantive explanation. Using tables, graphs, and charts, this study explores every aspect of the regional military balance with attention to sub-regional balances, internal civil conflicts, and low level border tensions.The Middle East is certainly one of the most militarized areas in the world, and changes in technology, access to weapons of mass destruction, and political instability contribute to a situation that has long been in constant flux. Some of the regional flashpoints covered in this study include the Maghreb (North Africa); the Arab-Israeli conflict (dominated by Israel versus Syria); and the Gulf (divided into those states that view Iran as the primary threat and those who lived in fear of Iraq). Internal conflicts, such as those in Mauritania, Algeria, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Yemen, increasingly dominate regional tensions. In addition, border conflicts within the region and with neighboring countries could further aggravate the delicate balance.

The reality of the Arab-Israeli balance now consists of two subordinate balances: Israel versus Syria and Israel versus the Palestinians.

The Middle Eastern and North African region (MENA) dominates world energy exports today and will likely do so for decades to come, even if world consumers make steady progress in conservation, renewable energy sources, and increases from gas, coal, and nuclear power. The MENA region, however, has been the scene of both internal crises and external conflicts. On several occasions, these crises have affected either the flow of MENA energy exports or the development of energy production and export capacity. The politics, economics, and social dynamics that shape threats to regional stability are complex. Cordesman details the factors behind these diverse forces and outlines current supply levels and future trends, taking each of these variables into consideration.The MENA area includes at least 22 states, with a combined population of nearly 300 million, each with different political, economic, demographic, and security conditions and needs. It is divided into at least four sub-regions including the Maghreb (Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia); the Levant and the Arab-Israeli confrontation states (Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria); the Gulf (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Oman); and the Red Sea states (Yemen, the Sudan, and Somalia). This important guide outlines the forces affecting each sub-region, including supply, demand, and financing, and forecasts the likely impact that different scenarios would have on energy resources under varying world conditions.

Cordesman argues that an effective defense against missile threats from "rogue" nations will require linking an effective national missile defense programme to an ambitious counterproliferation strategy, and a realistc approach to arms control and national security options.

A guide to the political and military capabilities of the key players in the Middle East, including non-state actors such as the Palestinians, and a discussion of to the outcome of possible wars. Topics covered include conventional forces, arms transfers, force quality and morale, and more.

An examination of the Maghreb - a region overburdened by unnecessary military expenditures. It features a country-by-country assessment of the effectiveness of military forces and their impact on regional economics, which shows that strategic ambitions have been supplanted by internal tensions.

Examines efforts to create effective Iraqi military, security, and police forces. Published in cooperation with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington, D.C., this work addresses one of most important elements for establishing stability in post-Saddam Iraq.

Since the Gulf War, Iraq has attempted to win through confrontation, diplomacy, and bluster what it could not achieve on the battlefield.

This report tracks and analyzes trends in Chinese military strategy, force structure, and regional activity. Chinese perspectives on their military's role and development are featured, as well as the views of other relevant regional actors.

Israel and Syria: The Military Balance and Prospects of War provides a detailed and current picture of the military capabilities of Israel and Syria, reflecting the changes and lessons of the Israel-Hezbollah War in 2006 and other recent conflicts.

Given the ambiguous nature of Iran's global objectives, this new study focuses on the tangible aspects of Iran's military forces and takes an objective look at the realistic threats that Iran poses to the region and the world.

If the Intifada was a struggle for recognition that a peace had to be reached that was just for both sides, the Israeli-Palestinian War has polarized both sides away from peace, convincing them of the justice of their own cause and tactics and the fundamental injustice of the other side's tactics and goals.

This detailed volume examines these threats and the evolving U.S. policy response. After examining the dangers posed by information warfare and efforts at threat assessment, Cordesman considers the growing policy response on the part of various federal agencies, state and local governments, and the private sector.