This book was actually better than I thought it would be. Iran, Iraq, and Syria combine forces to create a new Islamic state and invade Saudi Arabia in a bid to control most of the world's oil supply and cut the United States off at the knees. Meanwhile, China attempts to gain control of the strategic Straight of Malacca. The United States military has been pared back so much that it will have difficulty in dealing with both situations at once, so it moves the majority of its forces to aid Saudi Arabia and a token force to help in Malaysia. By the end of the book, things are obviously made right. (view spoiler)[ The biggest surprise in the book for me, and the most pleasant, was the inclusion of the German Army. In the book, the Germans have nearly two hundred Panzers at a tank training base in Turkey that the United States want to move into Iraq from the rear and cut off the Muslim army's supply lines. There is not any detail given from the German point of view, but it was still a great point in the story in which the United States has to rely upon another ally for help in a volatile region. The United States manage to convince Turkey that they are next in line to be gobbled up by this new Islamic union, and they in turn allow the Germans to use the training facility as the base to attack the undefended rear. (hide spoiler)]
