Introduction

The United States and its Western allies have used military force 220 times since the end of World War II. About 80 of these uses have involved low-level conflict, while 15 have involved major task forces or extended and fairly intense conflict, and all 15 have occurred in the Third World. The US is selling F-15, F-16, E-3A, and E-2C aircraft and Improved Hawk missiles to the Third World. Military technology transfers continue to proliferate, and a steadily larger percentage of Third World arms purchases have technology equal to the deployed technology in Western forces. This is particularly true in the Near East and southwest Asia, which received over 70 percent of all major weapons and military technology transfers to the Third World during 1980 to 1985. The specific conflicts examined are the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, the Soviet military operations against Afghan mujahideen, the Iran-Iraq War, the Israeli military operations in Lebanon, and the Falkland Islands War.