Publisher Description

This textbook anthology of selected readings on pressing Middle East security concerns serves as an invaluable single-volume assessment of critical security issues in nations such as Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen.The issues and current events of the Greater Middle East continue to hold deep implications for American geopolitical interests in the region—as they have for many decades. An ideal resource for students in undergraduate courses on the Middle East and related regions as well as students in graduate programs of international studies or security studies, this textbook anthologizes recent, insightful analyses by top scholars on trends and events in the Middle East that bear crucially on regional and global security considerations, covering topics like Iran's nuclear ambitions; the rise, ebb, and resurgence of Al Qaeda; and the war in Syria.The essays address concerns that include the re-imposition of military rule in Egypt; the current status of Palestinian-Israeli relations; the civil war and proposed chemical inspections in Syria; Sunni-Shiite conflict and the revitalized al Qaeda presence in Iraq and the Sunni resurgence in Iraq and Syria; and the on-again-off-again international monitoring of nuclear facilities in Iran, along with discussions of that country's connections to the Syrian regime and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The use of drone strikes as antiterrorist weapons and their use within U.S. and international law also receive specific attention. Each reading is summarized and contextualized by a concise introduction that serves to enhance the integration of the individual readings across the book. Original source notes are included with each chapter as guides to further reading, and numerous maps provide an essential sense of place. The book also includes a glossary of terms and a register of brief biographies of significant persons.

Author Biography

Karl Yambert, PhD, is an independent scholar who holds a doctorate in anthropology from the University of California, Davis.

Table of Contents

PrefaceAcknowledgmentsAbout This BookPart I. Geopolitical Context: Five Perspectives on the Greater Middle EastChapter One Freedom and Democracy in the Greater Middle EastDick CheneyChapter Two America's Engagement with the Middle EastBarack ObamaChapter Three Accepting the Inalienable Right of IranHassan RouhaniChapter Four Address to the American CongressBenjamin NetanyahuChapter Five Saudi Arabia: Regional Politics and the Rivalry with IranMatthew GrayPart II. Nuclear Proliferation and Chemical Weapons: Israel, Iran, Pakistan, SyriaChapter Six Israel, Iran, and the Arms Control Paradox in the Middle EastBrent J. TalbotChapter Seven Domestic Motivations of the Iranian Nuclear ProgramGaukhar Mukhatzhanova and Nicholas BowenChapter Eight The Triangle: Iran, Israel, and the United StatesJalil RoshandelChapter Nine Regional Nuclear States: Israel, Iran, and PakistanRichard Dean Burns and Joseph M. SiracusaChapter Ten Pakistan and India: The Enduring ConflictAmit GuptaChapter Eleven Framework for Elimination of Syrian Chemical WeaponsU.S. Department of State et al.Part III. Israel and Palestine, Hamas and Hezbollah, Iran and SyriaChapter Twelve No More NakbasMahmoud AbbasChapter Thirteen Regional Politics and Proxy Groups: Iran, Hamas, and HezbollahJalil RoshandelChapter Fourteen Hezbollah in LebanonDavid S. SorensonChapter Fifteen Hezbollah, Syria, and ISISJames Worrall, Simon Mabon, and Gordon ClubbPart IV. DronesChapter Sixteen Predator Strikes in the War on TerrorismWilliam C. BanksChapter Seventeen Framework for Lethal, Targeted Action against Al-QaedaBarack ObamaChapter Eighteen Drones: Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary ExecutionsChristof HeynsChapter Nineteen The Civilian Impact of Drones: Sample Strike AnalysisBen EmmersonPart V. Islamic Insurgencies: Al-Qaeda, Taliban, Islamic State, ChechnyaChapter Twenty Islamic Insurgencies: Taliban, Al-Qaeda, Islamic StateKarl YambertChapter Twenty-One Palestinian Precedents: The Origins of Al-Qaeda's Use of Suicide TerrorismBenjamin T. AcostaChapter Twenty-Two Conventional and Unconventional War in IraqJohn A. GentryChapter Twenty-Three The Taliban and Al-Qaeda in AfghanistanJohn A. GentryChapter Twenty-Four The Taliban, Affiliated Insurgent Groups, and Pakistan and IranMark SilinskyChapter Twenty-Five Al-Qaeda and ISIS in Iraq and SyriaDenise N. Baken and Ioannis MantzikosChapter Twenty-Six The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS): Building a Caliphate in the LevantColin P. ClarkeChapter Twenty-Seven The Caucasus Emirate: Conditions in the North CaucasusElena PokalovaPart VI. Libya and the MaghrebChapter Twenty-Eight Libya and Security Challenges in the MaghrebYahia H. ZoubirChapter Twenty-Nine Post-Gaddafi LibyaRichard A. Lobban Jr. and Christopher H. DaltonChapter Thirty Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)Denise N. Baken and Ioannis MantzikosAppendix: PersonsGlossaryAbout the ContributorsIndex

Review

"Drones, the Benghazi attacks, and ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq) are among the topics discussed. . . . VERDICT This title offers a sobering, authoritative briefing on a 'zone of turmoil.'" - Library Journal

Promotional

This textbook anthology of selected readings on pressing Middle East security concerns serves as an invaluable single-volume assessment of critical security issues in nations such as Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen.

Long Description

The issues and current events of the Greater Middle East continue to hold deep implications for American geopolitical interests in the region--as they have for many decades. An ideal resource for students in undergraduate courses on the Middle East and related regions as well as students in graduate programs of international studies or security studies, this textbook anthologizes recent, insightful analyses by top scholars on trends and events in the Middle East that bear crucially on regional and global security considerations, covering topics like Iran's nuclear ambitions; the rise, ebb, and resurgence of Al Qaeda; and the war in Syria. The essays address concerns that include the re-imposition of military rule in Egypt; the current status of Palestinian-Israeli relations; the civil war and proposed chemical inspections in Syria; Sunni-Shiite conflict and the revitalized al Qaeda presence in Iraq and the Sunni resurgence in Iraq and Syria; and the on-again-off-again international monitoring of nuclear facilities in Iran, along with discussions of that country's connections to the Syrian regime and Hezbollah in Lebanon. The use of drone strikes as antiterrorist weapons and their use within U.S. and international law also receive specific attention. Each reading is summarized and contextualized by a concise introduction that serves to enhance the integration of the individual readings across the book. Original source notes are included with each chapter as guides to further reading, and numerous maps provide an essential sense of place. The book also includes a glossary of terms and a register of brief biographies of significant persons.

Review Quote

"Drones, the Benghazi attacks, and ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq) are among the topics discussed. . . . VERDICT This title offers a sobering, authoritative briefing on a 'zone of turmoil.'" - Library Journal

Promotional "Headline"

What are the implications of the United Nations' recognition of Palestine as a "non-member observer state"?

Description for Reader

* Offers important insights and analyses of authoritative observers on the Greater Middle East and its most current and pressing security concerns * Supplies informed, up-to-date coverage of key flashpoints across the Greater Middle East, such as al Qaeda in Fallujah, ISIS, Syria's civil war, the Iranian nuclear weapons issue, the Taliban in Afghanistan, and Chechen insurgents in the Caucasus * Provides concise introductions that summarize the readings' essential points and situate the readings within an integrative context * Includes original notes and bibliographies for each reading that serve as guides to further reading as well as numerous maps that provide students with an essential sense of place

Details