A fascinating review by Colonel Norvell B. DeAtkine, a ret'd US Army officer, a SME on the Arab military; the full title being 'Western Influence on Arab Militaries: Pounding Square Pegs into Round Holes', that appeared on an Israeli website today:http://www.gloria-center.org/2013/03...o-round-holes/

The introduction:
This article is a personal account of U.S. Army Colonel Norvell DeAtkine’s experience in dealing with Arab militaries for over 40 years. Based on observation and study of Arab military establishments, he concludes little of significance has happened to change the deeply embedded character of the Arab military mindset. While there is some evidence that Arab soldiers historically performed better under European officers, there is no evidence that the Western tradition of command ethos outlived the departure of the officers. There is indeed a distinct Arab military tradition and attempts to recreate it in one’s image are not only fruitless, but often counter-productive.
It is in part an update on his 1999 article 'Why Arabs Lose Wars' and much has changed since then - in the Middle East and for outsiders, notably the USA.

Sub-headings are:
THE ARAB AS UNCONVENTIONAL FIGHTER, CONTINUITY IN THE ARAB MILITARY CULTURE, THE RAPID EVAPORATION OF WESTERN INFLUENCE, PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE EGYPTIAN ARMY, THE IRAQI ARMY EXPERIENCE, WESTERN VERSUS RUSSIAN TRAINING AND LOGISTICS SYSTEMS, THE SAUDI EXPERIENCE and CONCLUSION.
Having read a British Army Review article on the UK Mission to the Saudi Arabian Army, this article provides a good counter-balance (the BAR article is not in the public domain, let alone on-line).

The footnotes have some other gems, especially an US Army Arab-American's comments.