MER Article Bullets, Banks and Bushels Access to food, and at what price, is a potent political issue in the Middle East today. The question is posed most starkly in conditions of war and armed conflict. The recent blockade of Palestinian camps near Beirut over many months reduced the inhabitants to starvation and compelled Palestinian f Karen Pfeifer, Joe Stork • 8 min read
MER Article From the Editors (March/April 1987) For working people in the United States, April is the month for rendering unto Caesar. This is the time when we pay for things like the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, the aircraft carriers cruising the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, and weapons to Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan and a host of other w The Editors • 3 min read
MER Article Shehadeh, Occupier's Law Raja Shehadeh, Occupier’s Law: Israel and the West Bank (Washington, DC: Institute for Palestine Studies, 1985). Rex Wingerter • 2 min read
MER Article Ajami, The Vanished Imam Fouad Ajami, The Vanished Imam: Musa al-Sadr and the Shia of Lebanon (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1986). As'ad AbuKhalil • 5 min read
MER Article Jordan's Plan for the West Bank Jordan and Israel together have destroyed the post-Lebanon strategy of the Palestinian movement led by Yasser Arafat. King Hussein’s $1.2 billion five-year development plan for the Occupied Territories, unveiled in mid-July, provides the velvet glove to accompany Israel’s iron fist. Kevin Kelly • 6 min read
MER Article Document: "American Reactions Are a Little Primitive" In early November 1986, just as the Iran arms story was breaking, Washington Times editor Arnaud de Borchgrave interviewed French Prime Minister Jacques Chirac. On November 7, de Borchgrave published a front-page story based on the interview highlighting Chirac’s suspicion, which the prime minister (Author not identified) • 17 min read
MER Article Low-Intensity Warfare The US Navy calls it “violent peace.” One of its foremost academic boosters says it means “to fight without appearing to fight.” They are talking about low-intensity conflict. This is the term the US government uses to describe a strategy of fighting small, relatively cheap wars. Few US troops are i Jochen Hippler • 16 min read
MER Article Turkey's Armaments Industries Turkish government officials project spending some $15 billion over the next 12 years to bring Turkey’s military forces up to NATO standards. This would make Turkey’s arms industry one of the major growth sectors over the next decade. Military industries now employ over 40,000 people directly. Once Ömer Karasapan • 16 min read
MER Article US Corporate Ownership of Israeli Military Industries US Corporation: AEL Industries, Inc. Israeli Corporation: Elisra Electronic Systems (formerly AEL Israel) Financial Relationship: AEL owns 58 percent of Elisra. Military Products: Electronic warfare systems; telephone switching equipment. In 1984 approximately 50 percent of sales were for export. Aw Sheila Ryan • 3 min read
MER Article US Military Contractors in Israel Over the past two decades, a combination of factors has significantly reoriented the Israeli economy toward military production -- weapons for Israel’s military and for export to juntas, minority regimes and dictators around the world. Israeli officials justify this development of military industri Sheila Ryan • 14 min read
MER Article Arms Industries of the Middle East Forty years ago, arms production in the Middle East was limited to a few small factories producing rifles and ammunition. Today, arms production has become a very big business in the region, with annual output worth more than $4 billion and rising. Of the 23 Third World countries with extensive mili Joe Stork • 12 min read
