Iran's Developing Military Capabilities [Paperback]

Anthony H. Cordesman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2005

In this new analysis and assessment, Anthony Cordesman draws on a wide variety of classified and unclassified sources to provide a clearer picture of Iran's developing military capabilities in 2005.

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About the Author

Anthony H. Cordesman holds the Arleigh Burke Chair in Strategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC. He is military analyst for ABC News and a frequent commentator on NPR and the BBC. He is the author of numerous books, including The Iraq War (CSIS, 2003).

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Center for Strategic & Intl Studies (May 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892064692
• ISBN-13: 978-0892064694
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,085,452 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful but with a lot of unknown factors, May 14, 2006

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Dimitrios (Greece) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Iran's Developing Military Capabilities (Paperback)

Mr Cordesman`s style of writing is a little bit dry, focusing on hard facts at the expense of eloquence, but here is a wealth of data and statistics for anyone interested in Iran's military capabilities. There are chapters dealing with Army, Navy, Air Force and the Pasdaran paramilitary forces and about 30 pages at the end of the book cover every known aspect of the various WMD programs with a special emphasis on nuclear development. Although the book was compiled at the end of 2004 the reader must take into account that Iran's rearmament proceeds now at an exceedingly fast pace and an order of Tor-M1 SAMs was placed in December 2005. There is also a wild speculation about S-300 SAMs and whether Iran has acquired two or more batteries of these highly capable systems. The weak point in every study about the Iranian military is the secret veil covering many aspects of arms deals, which Cordesman admits in every chance. I found most interesting the details about the operational capabilities of the Iranian Navy, and particularly the advantages and disadvantages of the Persian Gulf environment regarding the operations of the three Kilo class submarines. The Iranians have also a vast stock of sea mines and they are capable to pose a serious threat to the chock point of the Hormuz Straits. Regarding the Iranian Air Force, I agree that the aircraft are few, old and without proper modernization but the Iranians have tried hard to keep them flying and have also made some interesting improvisations to them. The quality of their pilots though remains a mystery. The reader can not avoid to wonder why the Iranians neglected so much their conventional defense during the last 15 years (even when they had plenty of money), in favor of producing or buying ballistic missiles like the Scuds and the Shahabs. These missiles are not panacea and certainly can not save their cladestine nuclear program from destruction in the case of an air strike. Surely they are a factor of detterence but I don't believe that they can hold Israel or the US at bay.