Word: arabism
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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THAT deadly shade spread farther across the hostile Middle East last week. Israel, concerned about the Arabs' increasing confidence and belligerency in recent weeks, abandoned any pretense of attacking only in reprisal and launched a limited offensive against its Arab foes. Egypt's official spokesman said: "We consider ourselves at war," and as much as admitted the reserves were being partially mobilized. The week also brought intensified artillery duels along the Syrian and Egyptian frontiers, spectacular aerial dogfights, and more commando raids by both sides, including Arab demolition of a power line pylon which cut off electricity...
...Syrian jets were knocked down, while Syria admitted losing three MIGs but said four Israeli Mirages were bagged. There were other air battles as well; one a brief fracas near the southern tip of Sinai in which, according to Israel, two Egyptian MIG-21s were downed. The rain of Arab aircraft, in fact, stirred a fresh upsurge of cockiness in Israel, and a favorite 1967 joke made the rounds once more. "It's easy to be an Arab pilot. All he has to learn is how to get up into the air; our pilots get him down again...
Meeting in Moscow. An agreement reached last week between two major factions of the fedayeen movement provided further evidence of Arab determination. Leaders of Al-Fatah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) met in Amman for three days of almost nonstop meetings. They were concerned about a Cabinet reshuffle in Jordan that put anti-commando men into key positions and embarrassed by an unseemly squabble over credit for a successful raid three weeks ago. Other commando chieftains also joined the talks, and the upshot was a pledge of increased coordination. Just how long the agreement will...
...need to demonstrate his independence in the face of Soviet counsels of caution. On the other hand, there are evanescent but tantalizing indications of counterpressures on Nasser from some army officers and middle-class bureaucrats who are weary of Egypt's bearing the main burden of the Arab cause. These men have begun to argue for making a separate peace with Israel and letting other Arabs carry on as best they...
...Washington, the U.S. had won from the Soviets a tacit agreement to let Israel and Egypt work out their new borders themselves. But after Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko visited Cairo last month, Russia switched its stance and in a hard-lining note delivered two weeks ago echoed Arab demands for total Israeli withdrawal on all fronts to prewar lines. The Soviets also called for demilitarized zones "astride" the borders, a suggestion that Israel has always resisted. In fact, the only encouraging sign was a negative one. Nasser has apparently not rejected the notion of a "contractual agreement," thus keeping...