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Thoran · 03-25-2003, 11:27 AM

Egypt had blockaded the straits of Tiran, which has been argued to be the primary causal factor.

They had also massed troops along the Israeli border and signed treaties with Jordan and Syria that prompted those countries to do the same. Isreal responded by massing it's forces to repulse an attack, but the Isreali military is primarily reserves, which means they can't stay mobilised indefinitely. Something had to give.

At the same time the Arab world was publishing stuff like this:

As of today, there no longer exists an international emergency force to protect Israel. We shall exercise patience no more. We shall not complain any more to the UN about Israel. The sole method we shall apply against Israel is total war, which will result in the extermination of Zionist existence

and this...

Our forces are now entirely ready not only to repulse the aggression, but to initiate the act of liberation itself, and to explode the Zionist presence in the Arab homeland. The Syrian army, with its finger on the trigger, is united....I, as a military man, believe that the time has come to enter into a battle of annihilation

So while I agree it's agruable who started this war, my take is that Isreal was responding to overwhelming agression on every border. They were put in a position where the Arab nations could wait out the Isreali military (which couldn't stay mobilized indefinitely). Your mileage may vary (Isreali/Arab relations are an ugly business).

[ 03-25-2003, 11:27 AM: Message edited by: Thoran ]

03-25-2003, 11:27 AM	#9
Thoran Galvatron Join Date: January 10, 2002 Location: Upstate NY Age: 57 Posts: 2,109	Egypt had blockaded the straits of Tiran, which has been argued to be the primary causal factor. They had also massed troops along the Israeli border and signed treaties with Jordan and Syria that prompted those countries to do the same. Isreal responded by massing it's forces to repulse an attack, but the Isreali military is primarily reserves, which means they can't stay mobilised indefinitely. Something had to give. At the same time the Arab world was publishing stuff like this: As of today, there no longer exists an international emergency force to protect Israel. We shall exercise patience no more. We shall not complain any more to the UN about Israel. The sole method we shall apply against Israel is total war, which will result in the extermination of Zionist existence and this... Our forces are now entirely ready not only to repulse the aggression, but to initiate the act of liberation itself, and to explode the Zionist presence in the Arab homeland. The Syrian army, with its finger on the trigger, is united....I, as a military man, believe that the time has come to enter into a battle of annihilation So while I agree it's agruable who started this war, my take is that Isreal was responding to overwhelming agression on every border. They were put in a position where the Arab nations could wait out the Isreali military (which couldn't stay mobilized indefinitely). Your mileage may vary (Isreali/Arab relations are an ugly business). [ 03-25-2003, 11:27 AM: Message edited by: Thoran ]