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Article: Dry politics. (political conflicts on water resources in the Middle East) (The Middle East)
- Article from:
- The Middle East
- Article date:
- February 1, 1994
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 IC Publications Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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WATER SEEMS an innocent enough resource. Not like oil, over which countries (most recently Iraq) seem prepared to go to war. Do not be complacent, however. "The one certainty in the Middle East today is that water has become a commodity as important as oil: to those who possess it, it is a means of leverage and a way of projecting power; to those who lack adequate supplies, a prime concern of national security must be to increase what is available."
These words of warning come from a new book, Water Wars: Coming Conflicts in the Middle East (reviewed on page 38 of this issue). The authors paint a deliberately but considered picture of a dangerous future in the region ...