Levins, Hoag. Arab Reach: The Secret War Against Israel. Garden City NY: Doubleday, 1983. 324 pages.

Even after twenty additional years of Arab-Israeli conflict, this book by Philadelphia reporter Hoag Levins has much to offer. His point of departure is America's dependency on oil; the growing Arab wealth and influence in the U.S. due to the ability of Arab nations to control oil supplies; and finally, Israel's nuclear monopoly in the Middle East and the likelihood that she will use these weapons in the next major war. The chapters on outrageous Arab spending around the world are particularly fascinating, as well as perversely entertaining.

A few things have changed. Arab spending and investment was sharply curtailed when oil prices dropped after this book was published, and OPEC lost power. (However, prices could go up again, as alternative energy and conservation efforts were abandoned as well.) Secondly, this book describes how Arab leaders were concentrating on nuclear weapons development in Pakistan and other countries; now Pakistan has the bomb. But the big change is that the Cold War is over, and today organized terrorism has largely replaced warfare between nations. Globalization and U.S. unilateralism is finally making America a prime target. Along with this there is a new awareness that chemical and biological weapons can be devastating, which means that nuclear weapons are no longer the only option.
ISBN 0-385-18057-8

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