Posted by
2doc on Friday, June 01, 2007 7:04:59 PM
The 40th anniversary of the 1967 war, when Egypt, Jordan and Syria attacked Israel, with the express purpose of demolishing this Jewish Country. June 5, is the 40th anniversary of the first day of the war, following the Egyptian blockade and massing of arms and men by the Arabs on Israel's borders.
1. Egypt started the Six-Day War by closing the Straits of Tiran (under international law a casus belli or act of war), and the Jordanian and Syrian airforces and armies attacked Israel before Israel moved against them. Even the relatively "moderate" King Hussein of Jordan, a supposed ally of America, attacked Israel (despite Israel pledging not to attack Jordan if the kingdom stayed out of the war). While Israel's attack on the Egyptian airforce is typically called "preemptive," Egypt's naval blockade was the initial act of war.
2. Israel greatly feared that with Soviet aid, the Arab soldiers, 200,000 of whom were massed on Israel's borders, could overrun Israel with a loss of untold thousands of lives and the Country itself. So agonizing was the stress in the lead-up to the war that Chief of Staff Itzhak Rabin had a paralyzing breakdown for several days.
3. Israel gained control of Samaria and Judaea (West Bank), Gaza, the Golan Heights and the eastern portion of Jerusalem as a result of Arab aggression and refusal to accept Israel's sovereign rights in the historic Jewish homeland.
4. After the war, Israel offered to give back virtually all the land gained (not including Jerusalem) for recognition and peace with the Arabs but, Arab leaders responded with the three nos: no peace, no negotiations and no recognition of Israel.
5. This rejection of Israel was similar to the Arabs' refusal to accept coexistence and compromise under the 1947 partition proposal. Arab rejection led to continued conflict and deprivation, not only for Israelis, but for the Palestinian Arabs also.
6. Statements by many of today's Middle Eastern leaders, whether Iranian, Palestinian Arab (Hamas is the elected government) or by Hezbollah, sound no less genocidal than the statements of Nasser and other Arab leaders in 1967. Regrettably, other than offering a few words of condemnation, world leaders did nothing meaningful 40 years ago to stop Arab aggression.
What lessons does this hold for today when weapons are more lethal, particularly regarding Iran and its nuclear capabilities?