About the Author

E. R. Hooton is a retired defence journalist, with a career including acting as a Jane's yearbook editor. He is the author of more than a dozen military history books ranging from the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, air operations over the Western Front in 1916-1918, the breaking of the Hindenburg Line in 1918, the Red Army of 1937-1941, air operations between 1939 and 1945 and the Communist Chinese victory of 1945-1951. Farzin Nadimi is a writer and researcher of Middle Eastern and Persian Gulf defense and security affairs, with a focus on Iran-Iraq War military history, energy security and geopolitics, economic warfare, and oil and gas industries. He has a Master's degree in War Studies from King's College London and a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Manchester. He lives in Washington, DC and is currently working at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.