Nations around the world are uncertain and anxious about Iran's intentions in the Middle East and the wider global arena. Its current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has made no secret of his opposition to Western society, particularly Israel, and his desire to acquire nuclear weapons. However, as Anthony H. Cordesman and Martin Kleiber point out, Ahmadinejad does not necessarily speak for the Iranian clerical regime, who operate in a cloud of secrecy and also directly control Iran's military. 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. The authors systematically assess each aspect of Iranian military forces from their conventional armies to their asymmetric threat via proxy wars in the region.
Much attention in national security debates is paid to Iran's intentions without first understanding its capabilities. Lacking such a fundamental understanding, much of this speculation tends to be wasted and irrelevant to what could actually happen in the event of a conflict. Cordesman and Kleiber's study provides, in meticulous detail, a basis for understanding the realistic threat that Iran poses to the Northern Gulf.

Iran's Military Forces and Warfighting Capabilities: The Threat in the Northern Gulf (Praeger Security International)

History

Cordesman, Anthony H.

Kleiber, Martin

Asia

Praeger

Changing political relationships and a substantial increase in resources have prompted the Chinese leadership to accelerate the modernization of its armed forces. Observers, not least the United States, have wondered what objectives China's military buildup is meant to serve. The Chinese government's extreme secrecy about military budgets, force training, and weapon system procurement leaves considerable room for speculation. Perhaps naturally, China is believed to be preparing capacities for a possible conflict with Taiwan, which might or might not involve the United States. But other developments, like the modernization of strategic nuclear weapons and the acquisition of naval surface combatants, have raised the attention of analysts as to what role the Chinese armed forces will play in China's evolving security policy. This study provides an assessment of the current state of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA). It addresses command structures, doctrine development, military spending, weapon system procurement, and the force structure of all four branches of the PLA. It does so by providing comparisons of current assessments of all aspects of PLA modernization and trend analyses that point out the developments in manpower, spending, and holdings of weapon systems, among others, over the past two decades. Thus, the volume seeks to lay a basis for a meaningful analysis of the role and trajectory of the Chinese military.

Chinese Military Modernization: Force Development and Strategic Capabilities (Significant Issues Series)

Engineering & Transportation

Engineering

Center for Strategic & International Studies

Nations around the world are uncertain and anxious about Iran s intentions in the Middle East and the wider global arena. Its current president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has made no secret of his opposition to Western society, particularly Israel, and his desire to acquire nuclear weapons. However, as Anthony Cordesman and Martin Kleiber point out, Ahmadinejad does not necessarily speak for the Iranian clerical regime, which operates in a cloud of secrecy and also directly controls Iran s military. 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 threats Iran poses to the region and the world. The authors systematically assess each aspect of Iranian military forces from their conventional armies to their asymmetric threat via proxy wars in the region. Much attention in national security debates is paid to Iran s intentions without first understanding its capabilities. Lacking such a fundamental understanding, much of this speculation tends to be wasted and irrelevant to what could actually happen in the event of a conflict. Cordesman and Kleiber s study provides, in meticulous detail, a basis for understanding the real threat that Iran poses in the Northern Gulf.

Iran’s Military Forces and Warfighting Capabilities: The Threat in the Northern Gulf (Significant Issues Series)

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