Anthony H. Cordesman

With the thoroughness that this recently spotlighted nation requires, this volume examines Kuwait's internal and external security situation after the turbulent days of the Gulf War and investigates continued Western involvement in its safekeeping. It also examines Kuwait's changing role as an energy exporter.

This volume examines the changing economic and internal security challenges faced by the Gulf countries and the problems they face with Iran, Iraq, and other Gulf states. The special military and security needs of Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates are analyzed here in detail, as are their growing demographic problems and export plans.

Nobody understands the delicate and dangerous balance of power in the Middle East better than Anthony Cordesman. In Perilous Prospects, he supplies the first account of the military and security concerns arising out of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the recent assassination of Prime Minister Rabin. Cordesman considers a number of possible futures for the region, and their effects on the peace process, ranging the outbreak of a new intifada, to war between Israel and Syria over the Golan Heights. He also provides an analysis of the internal security requirements of both Israel and a new Palestinian state, which are the key to any lasting settlement. Offering hard-headed analysis combined with hope for the future, Perilous Prospects is both timely and provocative.