The Limits to Power (1979) analyses the spectrum of Soviet interests and policies in the Middle East following the Yom Kippur War of October 1973: how the Soviets handled the oil question, military and economic aid, policy toward Egypt, Syria, Iraq, the Palestinian organisations – and toward Israel itself. The Soviet position in the Middle East in 1970 was as the dominant foreign power in the region, and this book examines the events and actions that resulted, under a decade later, in such a sharp reversal in Soviet fortunes. The ebb-and-flow of Soviet diplomacy, as it emerges from the wealth of official statements and press material, is examined in detail.