Israel and Syria: The Military Balance and Prospects of War

(Hardback)

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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. It offers extensive analysis, supported by tables and charts, on the trends in military spending, arms imports and technology transfers, military manpower, weapons, and orders of battle. By going beyond military balance analysis, Cordesman examines the probable nature and results of a future war and how the readiness, capability, tactics, and technology on each side would shape its outcome. Israel and Syria: The Military Balance and Prospects of War shows how a dangerous new conflict between both nations would cripple all strides in strategic gains and Israeli-Syrian diplomacy. On the other hand, peace negotiations would offer a safer, more productive relationship. Israel and Syria need to consider the true nature of their military balance and the undermining effect to both nations as well as the costs and risks of any future conflict. Although Syria does retain important options in terms of asymmetric and proxy conflicts, it would fail in its attempt to recapture the Golan. While Israel would almost certainly win a future war, it cannot make gains from acquiring more Syrian territory and a new war would create major problems with its neighbors and in dealing with the Palestinians. The risk of a new Israeli-Syrian conflict is so serious that both sides need to understand the true nature of their military balance, and the costs and risks of any future conflict. Israel and Syria: The Military Balance and Prospects of War shows how dangerous a new conflict could be, that neither side can make lasting strategic gains from a future conflict, and that peace negotiations offer a far safer and more productive option. It 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. Israel and Syria: The Military Balance and Prospects of War provides extensive analysis, supported by tables and charts, on the trends in military spending, arms imports and technology transfers, military manpower, weapons, and orders of battle. By going beyond military balance analysis, Cordesman examines the probable nature and results of a future war and how the readiness, capability, tactics, and technology on each side would shape its outcome.

Reviews

Written with the assistance of Aram Nerguizian and Lonut C. Popescu, Cordesman's study provides an impressive and very detailed analysis of the Israeli and Syrian militaries. . . in this extensive study, Cordesman effectively demonstrates that a conflict between Israel and Syria could be played out on land, air and seaand on a vast scale. * Israel Journal of Foreign Affairs *

Author Bio

Anthony H. Cordesman is Senior Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and a military correspondent for ABC News. A frequent commentator on National Public Radio, he is the author of numerous books on security issues and has served in a number of senior positions in the U.S. government. Aram Nerguizian is a research assistant at the Arleigh A. Burke Chair in Strategy, where he conducts research activities on projects concerning the Middle East. His research focuses on security politics in the Levant and specialized themes, such as the Lebanese Armed Forces' efforts to recapitalize its forces, Lebanese civil-military relations in the post-Syria era, and Lebanon's precarious geostrategic position with regard to Israel and Syria. Nerguizian holds an M.A. in International Affairs from George Washington University's Elliott School of International Affairs. Ionut C. Popescu is a doctoral student in political science at Duke University, where he studies U.S. defense policy, strategic theory, and American grand strategy. He worked for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) first as an intern with the International Security Program in 2005 and then for the Burke Chair in Strategy in 2007. In 2006, he worked at the United Nation's Department of Political Affairs with the Policy Planning Unit. His most recent publication is The Changing Challenges of U.S. Defense Spending, co-authored with Anthony H. Cordesman (Center for Strategic and International Studies, August 2007). Popescu earned a B.A. in Diplomacy and World Affairs from Occidental College.