An examination of the war fought between Israel and its neighbors in June 1967.
The paper examines how the Six Day War in June 1967 forever changed the balance of power in the Middle East. While Israel would emerge as the victor from this conflict, there would long term consequences from this victory. The paper discusses how much of the present situation in the region can be traced to the outcome of this conflict.
“The defeat of in 1967 severely weakened the idea of total Arab unity that had been emerging prior to the war under the guidance of Egypt’s President Nasser. This dissolution of a united Arab world came soon after the cease-fire and even resulted in Nasser’s loss of position as the appointed leader of the “Arab World” (9). With this sense of unity gone, the various individual states became more dependent on
and susceptible to more direct Soviet influence and control. It was in the best interest of the Soviet Union to maintain a strong presence in the region, due to both its own need and more importantly the “west’s’, need for the main natural resource of the Middle East, oil (10). With the exception of Egypt who expelled the Soviets in 1972, this situation would remain in the other Arab states and in some cases like Syria, increase until the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the cold war in 1989.”
and susceptible to more direct Soviet influence and control. It was in the best interest of the Soviet Union to maintain a strong presence in the region, due to both its own need and more importantly the “west’s’, need for the main natural resource of the Middle East, oil (10). With the exception of Egypt who expelled the Soviets in 1972, this situation would remain in the other Arab states and in some cases like Syria, increase until the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the cold war in 1989.”