Middle East Research and Information Project

Critical Coverage of the Middle East Since 1971

Martha Wenger

Martha Wenger was assistant editor of Middle East Report from 1982–1993. Following her departure from MERIP, Martha pursued an advanced degree in library science and, from 1998, she served as a librarian at the Washington International School in

MER Article

Egypt: A Primer

The People Nearly 50 million Egyptians live in this flat, hot, dry land the size of Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas combined. Most of them are crowded into a fertile strip along the Nile River and its delta. In greater Cairo, the 17th largest city in the world, population density is an astounding 27,0

Martha Wenger • 4 min read

MER Article

Recipe for an Israeli Nuclear Arsenal

Ten years ago, 62 percent of Israelis questioned in a poll were convinced that their nation had the nuclear bomb; 77 percent thought that if it didn’t already have it, it should. Only four percent believed Israel was nuclear-free. [1] In October 1986, an Israeli nuclear technician revealed to the Su

Martha Wenger • 19 min read

MER Article

Black, Garrison Guatemala

George Black with Milton Jamail and Norma Stoltz Chincilla, Garrison Guatemala (New York: Monthly Review Press, 1984). A Chicana from California on a recent political study trip to Guatemala elicited a special tour from guards at Guatemala’s seat of government, the National Palace, by putting on

Martha Wenger • 1 min read

Getting to the War On Time

Fifty thousand troops move across the desert in 100 degree-plus temperatures. F-18 jet fighters scream through the air and strafe the rock and sand below. Tanks maneuver over rough terrain to pound enemy positions. A buzzer goes off in a soldier’s helmet: The computer-guided laser network at the Arm

Martha Wenger • 23 min read

US Ready to Intervene in Gulf War

The current phase of the war between Iran and Iraq has prompted a level of US military intervention in the Gulf region that is new and unprecedented in both qualitative and quantitative terms, and holds the risk of a more direct combat role on Iraq’s behalf. Since early 1983, the stalemate in the wa

Martha Wenger, Joe Stork • 12 min read

MER Article

ADL, Pro-Arab Propaganda in America

Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, Pro-Arab Propaganda in America: Vehicles and Voices (New York, 1983).

Martha Wenger • 1 min read

MER Article

US Aid to Israel

The General Accounting Office (GAO), often referred to as “the congressional watchdog agency,” began a full-scale investigation of US aid to Israel in early 1982, without any public announcement or official congressional sponsor. The report was completed in early 1983 and circulated to the relevant

Martha Wenger, Joe Stork • 9 min read

MER Article

AirLand Battle Doctrine

The US Army has recently adopted an aggressive new warfighting doctrine called AirLand Battle. Its precepts now constitute the Army’s basic “how to fight” principles for a decade of “intense, deadly, and costly” battles. The Middle East is one of three major theaters—along with Europe and Korea—in w

Martha Wenger • 13 min read