Oil and Power
Political Dynamics in the Middle East

All writes two interesting sentences in an otherwise dull and utterly derivative book: "A review of the intra-Arab position before, during, and after the [1973 oil] embargo provides convincing proof that political realities in the Arab world — particularly the rivalry between progressive and conservative governments — doomed the oil weapon from the start. This factor, coupled with the Arab-Iranian schism, clouds predictions as to whether oil can ever be used effectively to achieve Arab policy goals." Unfortunately, Ali never shows how those divisions blunted the oil weapon; instead, he devotes his text to a wide-ranging but tired recapitulation of events in the Middle East during the past fifteen years.