Military in contemporary Middle East politics / Barry Rubin -- Why Arab armies lose wars / Norvell De Atkine -- US policy and Middle East armed forces / Marvin C. Feuer -- Russia's military involvement with the Middle East / Oksana Antonenko -- Guns and butter in the Egyptian army / Hillel Frisch -- Syrian army on the domestic and external fronts / Eyal Zisser -- Soldiers without fortune : Palestinian militarization in the post-statehood era / Gal Luft -- Jordanian army : between domestic and external challenges / Alexander Bligh -- Israel Defense Force : continuity and change / Stuart A. Cohen -- Military and politics : a Turkish dilemma / Umit Cizre Sakallioglu -- Saddam Husayn, the Ba'th regime and the Iraqi officer corps / Amatzia Baram -- Armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran : an assessment / Michael Eisenstadt.