Egypt in a Changing World

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Egypt's involvement in the Palestine dispute was due to political, economic, strategic and other reasons. The 1952 Egyptian revolution was a great turning point in the region. Nasser realised the Israeli ambition in the area and in particular Zionist designs against Egypt. He presented the Israeli threat to Egypt as a threat to the entire Arab World. Nasser forcefully defended the Palestinian rights and helped create the PLO in 1964. This brought him into open confrontation with Israel and the West. Anwar Sadat broke the 'no war no peace' stalemate by the 1973 October war and soon enlisted US support in getting back Sinai. He believed that peace with Israel through US mediation would offer the prospect of enhanced security as well as return of lost territories. This led him to sign two disengagement agreements with Israel in 1974 and 1975. The 1977 food riots and his break with the USSR among other factors led him to visit Jerusalem in 1977 and conclude peace with Israel in 1978-79. In this penetrating and impeccably documented study, the author makes a systematic study of how Nasser, Sadat and Mubarak have confronted the threats from Israel to Egypt's national security, how they responded not only to the challenges from Israel but also to the US, Soviet and Arab manoeuvrings. The book seeks to outline the far reaching changes in Egypt's foreign policy towards Israel, US, USSR since 1967. The book also 'attempts to make a systematic study of how the Egyptian peace offensive since 1973 exposed Israel's game plans to retain captured Arab lands. These and many other issues have been discussed in an impassioned and penetrating analysis. The book would be of particular interest to political scientists, specialist in security and peace studies, policy makers and students interested in WANA developments.

Dr. A.K. Pasha is Chairperson, Centre for West Asian and African Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Earlier, he served as Director, Gulf Studies Programme, SIS, JNU and during 1999-2002 as Director, Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture Cairo. Egypt. He was visiting fellow at the Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University, Egypt during 1985-86. He graduated in 1976 and obtained his MA degrees in Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies from Mysore University. He took M.Phil and Ph.D from JNU. Among his previous publications are — Egypt's Quest for Peace : (New Delhi : 1994), Egypt's Relations with Soviet Union (Aligarh : 1986); India and West Asia : Continuity and Change (Delhi : 1999); Arab Israeli Peace Process (New Delhi : 2000) and Iraq : Sanctions and Wars : (New Delhi : 2003) He has been writing and editing books on West Asia and North Africa since 1984. His research articles have been published in national and international journals and his articles on current West Asian issue have appeared in many national newspapers. He is a frequent commentator/analyst on West Asian affairs for Radio and TV in India and abroad and has travelled widely to all the countries in West Asia and North Africa for seminars, teaching/ talks at several Universities and research institutes and has been conducting research and teaching at the School since 1978.

Egypt's military involvement in the Palestine dispute started with the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and ended after 30 years, during which it saw the Israeli attack on Egypt in 1956 over the Suez Canal issue in which Britain and France also took part. Israel also attacked Egypt in the 1967 war alongwith Jordan and Syria. President Carnal Abdel Nasser lost Sinai and Gaza, and the Suez Canal remained closed. President Anwar Sadat initiated the 1973 October war in conjuction with Syria to break the 'no war no peace' stalemate and enlist US support in getting the Arab territories back from Israel. His assessment was that Israel on its own was not that strong, it was the backing and support from USA which made Israel strong and defiant. He concluded that Israeli monopoly of support in the US should be challenged and for this he reasoned he had to come to an accommodation to live in peace with Israel. His bold and imaginative policy to-wards Israel was the outcome of this line of thinking. The decisive shift was based on President Anwar Sadat's assessment of the global and regional power realities, lack of Arab unity, detente and Soviet Union's caution in supplying arms, growing Israeli clout and the economic burden of warfare with Israel. Egypt in a Changing world provides a comprehensive account of the largest Arab State's involvement in the Palestine issue, the fundamental strategic dilemmas President Carnal Abdel Nasser faced with Israel, USSR and the USA during 1956-1970. In this study how President Gamal Abdel Nasser, President Anwar Sadat and President Hosni Mubarak have confronted the threats from Israel to Egypt's national security, how they responded not only to the challenges from Israel but also to the US, Soviet and Arab manoeuvrings have been studied. The book seeks to outline the far reaching changes in Egypt's foreign policy towards Israel under President Anwar Sadat during the 1970's and how he reoriented Egypt's close relations with Moscow to becoming an ally of the US, in the aftermath of the 1973 war. The book attempts to make a systematic study of how the Egyptian peace offensive since 1967 exposed Israeli game plans to retain captured Arab lands It also highlights US attempt to use the Arab Israeli conflict to perpetuate its dominant influence relationships with key oil producing states in the region as also the attempt of the Soviet Union to frustrate the efforts of US, NATO and EEC/EU to dominate the oil rich and strategically crucial West Asian and North African (WANA) region. It seeks to explain why the USSR failed in its attempt to protect and safeguard its influence in the WANA region. Analysis of the substance and the individual process of decision making in Egypt will make this book of particular interest to political scientists, specialists in security and peace studies, policy makers and students interested in WANA developments. The first chapter deals with the compulsions why Egypt got involved in this dispute. It analyses in detail Nasser's support to the Palestine cause and implications for Egypt. The second Chapter examines in detail the several initiatives President Anwar Sadat took in order to find a peaceful solution with Israel. President Anwar Sadat repeatedly urged the PLO to establish government in exile and also worked to initiate a dialogue between the PLO and the US. The third chapter in great detail examines US role in the Suez war, 1962 Yemeni crisis, Nasser and the UN Security Council Resolution 242, Nasser's attitude towards US proposals for separate peace with Israel, President Nixon's first Peace Plan, the War of Attrition, the Rogers Peace Plan, reasons for President Gamal Abdel Nasser losing faith in the US and President Gamal Abdel Nasser's acceptance of Rogers Plan. It also looks into the reasons why the US was unwilling to confront Israel on the issue of withdrawal from Arab territories.

**Contents and Sample Pages**