Nasser and the Missile Age in the Middle East By Owen L. Sirrs
In Nasser and the Missile Age in the Middle East, Sirrs, an
analyst at the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, offers a
detailed case study of Egypt's foray into the ballistic missile
business during the Cold War. While the book lacks invaluable
Arabic and Hebrew-language sources--no fault of the author, as
such material remains largely inaccessible--it provides a much-
needed window into Egypt's missile program under Nasser, Sadat,
and Mubarak. In the work's opening pages, Sirrs suggests that
Cairo's infatuation with ballistic missiles arose from its
perceived need for a guaranteed deep-strike capability against
Israel in the 1950s. Enamored of their utility on the
battlefield--missiles could evade Israeli air defenses--Nasser
also viewed the weapons as the ultimate propaganda tool, one
that not only "appealed to Cairo's sense of regional leadership"
but could bolster Nasser's personal prestige as well. Despite
lofty ambition, Sirrs describes an Egy