Dangerous But Not Omnipotent Exploring the Reach and Limitations of Iranian Power in the Middle East

by Wehrey, Frederic; Thaler, David E.; Bensahel, Nora; Cragin, Kim; Green, Jerrold D.

• ISBN13: 9780833045546
• ISBN10: 0833045547
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-06-16
• Publisher: RAND Corporation

Summary

In an analysis grounded in the observation that although Iranian power projection is marked by strengths, it also has serious liabilities and limitations, this report surveys the nature of both in four critical areas and offers a new U.S. policy paradigm that seeks to manage the challenges Iran presents through the exploitation of regional barriers to its power and sources of caution in the regime’s strategic calculus.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. iii
Figures	p. ix
Table	p. xi
Summary	p. xiii
Acknowledgments	p. xxv
Abbreviations	p. xxvii
Introduction: Understanding the Iranian Challenge	p. 1
Assertiveness and Caution in Iranian Strategic Culture	p. 7
Asymmetric Ambition and Conventional Reality: Iran's Evolving Defense Strategy, Doctrine, and Capabilities	p. 39
Iran and Its Non-State Partners: Assessing Linkages and Control	p. 81
Arab Perceptions of the Iranian Threat	p. 129
Conclusion: U.S. Strategy and the Islamic Republic	p. 153
References	p. 181
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