This timely study synthesizes past history with the major military events and dynamics of the 20th- and 21st-century Middle East, helping readers understand the region's present-and look into its future.The Middle East has been-and will continue to be-a major influence on policy around the globe. This work reviews the impact of past epochs on the modern Middle East and analyzes key military events that contributed to forming the region and its people. By helping readers recognize historical patterns of conflict, the book will stimulate a greater understanding of the Middle East as it exists today.The work probes cause and effect in major conflicts that include the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the World Wars, the Arab-Israeli wars, and the U.S. wars with Iraq, examining the manner in which military operations have been conducted by both internal and external actors. New regional groups-for example, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)-are addressed, and pertinent events in Afghanistan and Pakistan are scrutinized. Since military affairs are traditionally an extension of politics and economics, the three are considered together in historical context as they relate to war and peace. The book closes with a chapter on the Arab Awakening and its impact on the future balance of power.

IntroductionChapter 1: Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign and the Decline of the Ottoman EmpireChapter 2: The First World War and the Ottoman SuccessionChapter 3: The Second World WarChapter 4: The Cold War and the Establishment of IsraelChapter 5: Arab-Israeli Conventional Operations, 1967-1973Chapter 6: British Military Withdrawal, the Iranian Revolution, and the Iran-Iraq WarChapter 7: The Establishment of USCENTCOM, Iraq's Invasion of Kuwait, and Operation Desert StormChapter 8: Containing Saddam, Jihad in Afghanistan, and Terrorist Attacks on the U.S. HomelandChapter 9: The Iraq War and the Rise of the Islamic State in the Middle EastChapter 10: SummaryNotesSelected BibliographyIndex