LINK TO REPORT The Burke Chair at CSIS is issuing a working draft of a new net assessment of the security situation in the Persian/Arab Gulf. This net assessment is a free report soon  a book,

The assessment covers the policies and security forces of Iran, the Arab Gulf states, and the U.S. role in the Gulf. It sets out the baseline conditions now shaping the balance and addresses three major changes in the Gulf military balance:

• First, the changing strategic relationship between Iran and its Arab neighbors and the uncertainty of the future U.S. role in the Gulf.
• Second, Iran’s growing capabilities for asymmetric warfare in the Gulf area.
• Third, the impact of Iran’s success in creating conventionally-armed, precision guided missiles and more effective air defenses.