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The Middle East Military Balance, 1989-90

Editor: Joseph Alpher. Boulder, Colo.: Westview, 1990. 454 pp. $74.50

Reviewed by Daniel Pipes
Orbis
Summer 1991

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After slipping in 1988-89, the Balance has picked up again. To begin with, this volume appeared in a more timely fashion than its immediate predecessor. The contents are more to the point. Though the Israeli editors still seem unduly fixed on the Israeli-Palestinian dimension (devoting three out of ten articles to the subject), they have reduced its coverage. Many of those articles are excellent, in particular Dov Tamari's assessment of the Syrian military and Anat Kurz's overviews of Palestinian and Shi'i terrorism.

The country-by-country breakdown of infrastructure and weaponry holds particular interest this year, and especially the chapter on Iraq; for the Persian Gulf War permits an external check. The Balance lists 24 Scud-b launchers, 6 al-Husayn stationary sites, and an unknown number of mobile al-Husayn units-a bit low, but not a bad estimate.

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