"The moment is coming when we will march on Damascus and overthrow the Syrian government"
So what? Why didn't you COMPLETE THE QUOTATION??!!!
Here it is, "because it seems that only military operations can discourage the plans for a people's war with which they threaten us."
If Dayan had said, "The moment is coming when we will march on Cairo and overthrow the Egyptian government", you'd have a point...
The fact is that there was NO UN OBSERVER FORCE in between Syria and Israel. There were CONSIDERABLE disputes between them over water rights...
There WAS a UN Observer force in place between Egypt and Israel. There WAS a UN CEASE FIRE agreement in place, which those observers oversaw fairly successfully, with relative peace existing on the border.
Nasser kicked them out, and on top of that he took a proactive belligerent act of blockading the straits, an act he knew would be intolerable to Israel (or any other country in the same position).
I could care less if it only represented 5% of their economy.. Most of that 5% consisted of oil, as you noted.. And since Israel has little to no oil, it's a VITAL commodity.
Cut 5% out of the US economy and see how much of an uproar is created (500 Billion+).. Cut us off from our only major source of oil and see what GREATER impact results!!
If Syria wants to blockade the Straits of Tiran, or Israeli oil trade, Nasser should have let THEM do it, not go spoiling for a fight himself. He only assisted in exacerbating an already tenuous situation and heightening the tension..
Bottom line Thomas, if somone were surrounded by sworn enemies, and they were the smallest guy of them all, they're not going to wait for someone to throw a punch in and hope to be able to recover from it. At least I wouldn't..
Of course, in "your world" I'm sure such things happen all the time..
If you come looking for a fight, I'll be happy to give it to you. In fact, I'll use your own momentum and energy against you..
Nasser should have sat down, shut up, and let the Syrians go at each other's throats.
Hawk |
