How Russia Pushed For A War Between Israel and Egypt In 1967 (Israel: Why Land Matters, Part II)

Yedidya Atlas continues with part II of his series on Israel's need for secure borders with Israel: Why Land Matters, Part II, examining the connection between secure borders on the one hand and Israel's need for time in order to fully mobilize in the event of an attack:

...But to win the war with the aforementioned better than even chance, another agonizing problem must be solved. As noted, Israel requires 48 hours to fully mobilize. It is economically unfeasible for the IDF to be in a state of constant mobilization. The productivity of the country would grind to a standstill. No nation could survive such conditions indefinitely. In fact, it was due to this factor that the Soviet Union was able to orchestrate the 1967 Six Day War.
The Soviets informed the Egyptians that Israel was mobilizing on its northern borders opposite Syria. Although untrue, it caused the Egyptians to pull their troops out of Yemen and mass them on the Israeli lines. This in turn forced Israel to truly mobilize – this time opposite Egypt. Realizing the consequences of long-term mobilization, Israel sent word to Egypt proposing a mutual de-escalation of troops. Nasser’s response was to close the Straits of Tiran, which was an act of war. Israel, faced with the task of waiting for Egypt to attack, while forced to maintain an unending full-scale mobilization with the consequences of impending national economic disaster, had no choice but to act. Hence, Israel’s preemptive attack on the morning of June 5, 1967.

Read the whole thing.

The mantra of recognizing Israel's need for secure and defensible borders--which we hear Obama repeating whenever he brags about his support for Israel, is meaningless without understanding the full implications.

Even in the age of mortars and missiles, Israel has specific security needs that require specific areas of land to be under its control.

Click here to read Israel: Why Land Matters, Part I.
Click here to read Israel: Why Land Matters, Part III

Technorati Tag: Israel and Egypt and Russia and Six Day War.