I am not claiming the Egyptians won the war, but it's my contention that the Egyptians caused enough of a 'scare' to gain some leverage in the post-war peace talks. It was enough to tilt the scales in terms of potential costs of continued hostilities with the Egyptians. I am not, however, arguing that it could've been done without Sadat's leadership. The Egyptians would not have had any 'peaceful disposition' if they didn't feel like they had at least some leverage after the war; they showed the Israelis that they are at least militarily 'competent' and it wasn't in Israel's interests to resume hostile relations with Egypt; along with Sadat's overtures, that was enough of an incentive to keep the Israelis interested, IMO. Kissinger's book is a pretty good read for those interested in the topic...
I was referring to their (Syria's) initial reaction. A mysterious incident involving Israeli jets over northern Syria last week has revived fears of war between Israel and Syria, just as months of tension between the bitter foes had appeared to be subsiding. The Israeli government is maintaining a rigid — and uncharacteristic —silence over the affair, which has drawn threats of retaliation from Damascus and a vow to take the matter to the U.N. Security Council. Speculation is rife, but facts elusive, over why Israeli warplanes were over above the arid plains of northern Syria early Thursday. Syria's official news agency last week quoted a Syrian military official saying that Israeli jets had entered Syrian airspace from the Mediterranean, and broke the sound barrier before coming under fire from air defenses. The Israelis, according to this account, had "dropped munitions" over deserted areas before departing. The report did not specify whether the Israelis had bombed any targets. The following day, fuel tanks were discovered inside Turkey near the Syrian border. Other jettisoned tanks were reportedly found inside Syria. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1660477,00.html?iid=sphere-inline-sidebar In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. Monday, Assad said Israeli warplanes attacked an "unused military building," the first time Syria officially acknowledged an air raid had taken place. Previously, Syrian officials had said only that the Israeli warplanes entered the country's airspace, came under fire from anti-aircraft defenses, and dropped munitions and fuel tanks over northeastern Syria to lighten their loads while they fled. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/02/AR2007100200860.html?hpid=sec-world That was Syria's first response... to play it down. It was like they didn't want to admit the Israelis bombed the facility at first, while trying to figure out how to spin it. Now they say there was a raid, but it hit "an unused military building." Time Magazine reports speculation that Israel is testing Syrian anti-air defenses, in preparation for a strike against Iran. from Time - The Syrians are suggesting that Israel had, albeit discreetly, moved preemptively to reassure Damascus of its intentions before the incident. Muallem told European ambassadors in Damascus at the weekend that last Wednesday — the day before the incursion — he had received a "calming message" from Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, sent via a top EU official, according to the Arabic Al-Hayat newspaper. Israeli officials have lately sought to defuse tensions by making clear Israel has no plan to attack Syria and reducing troop numbers near the border. But Muallem told the diplomats that Olmert's message was a "preparation for the penetration of planes into Syrian skies, just hours later," Al-Hayat reported. Israeli aircraft routinely breach Lebanese airspace, in defiance of U.N. resolutions, mainly to monitor the activities of Hizballah, and on rare occasions, usually connected to tensions in Lebanon or the Palestinian territories, they have also entered Syrian skies. But northern Syria is a long way from the traditional Arab-Israeli front line, suggesting that the mission was of sufficient importance to endanger air crews and risk a serious escalation of tensions with Damascus. Mohammed Raad, a senior Hizballah official, suggested that the overflight was an attempt to "identify an aggressive aerial passage" for an air strike against Iran. Analysts long have pondered the potential flight routes Israeli bombers would take in the event of a decision to target Iran's nuclear sites. Given the limitations of aircraft range, one option would be to fly directly across Jordan and/or Saudi Arabia and through U.S.-patrolled Iraqi skies. Neither the Saudis or the Jordanians would shed tears if Iran's nuclear capability were destroyed in an air strike, but they could not afford to be seen as having granted the Israelis safe passage though their skies. http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1660477,00.html?iid=sphere-inline-sidebar Wheels within wheels... D&D. Impeach the White House.
