Motivations for 1967 War
Motivations for the 1967 War in the Middle East
Introduction: Overview of the War
The 1967 war in the Middle East took place between Israel and its Arab neighbours (primarily Egypt), and lasted six days. However, it had much deeper-rooted motives and involved many other key players – both from the Arab states and internationally (such as America and the former Soviet Union). It is important to examine the motives behind both the regional and international players who were involved in the war, in order to better understand why the war broke out and to gain a clearer perspective of its long-term effects on the Middle East.
Motivations behind the War
Internationally, there were many key players in the years leading up to the 1967 war. Throughout the 1950s, the USA and Britain searched for ways of containing their threat of Soviet-communist expansion in the Middle East. An example of this Soviet expansion and threat was the temporary occupation of the Northern Iranian province of Azerbaijan. The USA and its allies made expansive attempts in the Middle East with Turkey getting into NATO in 1952, the CIA sponsored coup of Iran in 1953, and the invasion of the Suez Canal in 1956.
In 1955, Washington sponsored the establishment of the Baghdad Pact, which was intended to serve as a diplomatic and military alliance of pro-Western states against the Soviets and their allies. Although it was largely ineffective in the long–run, at that time this alliance was seen as a serious threat to Nasser’s populist regime and also to Egypt’s close alliance with the Soviets.
For the Americans, following the outcome of the Suez Canal invasion, they wanted to fill the ‘vacuum’ left in the Middle East as a result of France and Britain’s diplomatic retreat from the region. And so in 1957, President Eisenhower launched what became known as the Eisenhower Doctrine: a major Middle East foreign policy initiative. Its main goal was to foster close economic and military cooperation between
Introduction: Overview of the War
The 1967 war in the Middle East took place between Israel and its Arab neighbours (primarily Egypt), and lasted six days. However, it had much deeper-rooted motives and involved many other key players – both from the Arab states and internationally (such as America and the former Soviet Union). It is important to examine the motives behind both the regional and international players who were involved in the war, in order to better understand why the war broke out and to gain a clearer perspective of its long-term effects on the Middle East.
Motivations behind the War
Internationally, there were many key players in the years leading up to the 1967 war. Throughout the 1950s, the USA and Britain searched for ways of containing their threat of Soviet-communist expansion in the Middle East. An example of this Soviet expansion and threat was the temporary occupation of the Northern Iranian province of Azerbaijan. The USA and its allies made expansive attempts in the Middle East with Turkey getting into NATO in 1952, the CIA sponsored coup of Iran in 1953, and the invasion of the Suez Canal in 1956.
In 1955, Washington sponsored the establishment of the Baghdad Pact, which was intended to serve as a diplomatic and military alliance of pro-Western states against the Soviets and their allies. Although it was largely ineffective in the long–run, at that time this alliance was seen as a serious threat to Nasser’s populist regime and also to Egypt’s close alliance with the Soviets.
For the Americans, following the outcome of the Suez Canal invasion, they wanted to fill the ‘vacuum’ left in the Middle East as a result of France and Britain’s diplomatic retreat from the region. And so in 1957, President Eisenhower launched what became known as the Eisenhower Doctrine: a major Middle East foreign policy initiative. Its main goal was to foster close economic and military cooperation between