The Egyptian Military and the Arab-Israeli Military Balance

Download or read book The Egyptian Military and the Arab-Israeli Military Balance written by Anthony H. Cordesman and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 55 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Arab-Israeli military balance has steadily evolved in recent years to put more and more emphasis on irregular or asymmetric warfare, and the use of military force for political and ideological leverage, both inside the countries involved and in dealing with their neighbors. The fact that Israel is at peace with Egypt and Jordan, and has a significant conventional superiority over Syria, has both been a major factor in stabilizing the peace process and deterring conventional clashes and wars. Yet, it also means that the regional military balance must increasingly be assessed in new ways, and kept in careful perspective. As the analysis will show, only Israel has been able to effectively plan, budget, procure and recapitalize its forces in order to compete in the regional balance over the 2000-2010 period. This same conventional superiority, however, has been a key reason why other states and non-state actors now increasingly develop their asymmetric and unconventional capabilities to challenge the conventional balance, and to seek to use force and military power in ways that will allow them to avoid or limit conventional combat. This, in turn, makes Egyptian and Jordanian stability and commitments to their peace treaties steadily more important, while increasing the potential impact on the regional balance of wild cards, like Russian arms sales, and a shift in Turkish alignments away from Israel and towards the Arab world.