Al-Ahram Weekly | October Supplement

		Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 8 - 14 October 1998 Issue No.398
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Current issue \| Previous issue \| Site map

The will to win

At 2:00pm on 6 October 1973, more than 220 Egyptian warplanes flew over the Suez Canal and attacked Israeli command centres in the Sinai. "Operation Badr", soon to be known as the October War, had been launched, and a new stage in Egyptian and Arab history was opened.

Twenty-five years later, both the direct effects and the long-term ramifications of the October War, domestically, regionally and internationally, remain subject to debate. President Mubarak this week described as the product of "ignorance and prejudice" Israel's attempts to denigrate the Egyptian victory. These attempts are belied not only by the facts, but also by the statements Israel's own leaders and commentators made at the time, some of which are reproduced in this supplement.

Other aspects of the fallout from October are less clear. There is little doubt that the war opened the way to the Middle East peace process, which effectively began with disengagement agreements Egypt and Syria concluded with Israel soon after the guns had fallen silent. Sadat, hailed in Egypt as "the hero of war and peace", acted swiftly to try and reap the fruits of the victory and liberate occupied Arab territories. As far as Egypt was concerned, the results were spectacular. By 1982, Egypt had regained sovereignty over all of occupied Sinai, save for Taba, which was returned to the motherland in '89. Not a single Israeli settlement or installation remained on Egyptian territory.

In 1982, however, Sadat's optimistic declaration that the October '73 War would be the last Arab-Israeli war had to be qualified; making it the last "major" Arab-Israeli war. Israel invaded Lebanon and wreaked havoc on its capital, Beirut. And a quarter of a century after the October War, the prospects for a comprehensive and just peace in the region appear, if anything, more remote than they were in '73, despite the Madrid peace process, the accords the Palestinians and Jordan have concluded with Israel, and the progress that, not so long ago, seemed to have been achieved in Israeli-Syrian peace negotiations.

The October War was, without a doubt, the high point of Arab solidarity. A core axis formed by Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia was able to mobilise the Arab world as never before. But international and regional conditions have changed, possibly beyond recognition, since 1973, and it is an open question whether the three allies today could muster even a semblance of the Arab solidarity they were able to enlist during the war and in its immediate aftermath.

One fundamental aspect of the war, however, cannot be dissipated by a fast-changing world. The shattering defeat of June '67 failed to break the Egyptians. After five years of resolve, sound planning and hard work, they were able to do what even they, not to mention the whole world, had believed was impossible. It all came together in a moment of great heroism, national unity and self-sacrifice -- the "uncrossable" Suez Canal was crossed, the "invincible" Bar Lev line was destroyed, Sinai was returned.

This, ultimately, is the lesson of October '73 and it is this, above all, that Egyptians were celebrating this week.


"Our forces have crossed the [Suez] Canal and broken through the Bar Lev line," was the banner of Al-Ahram on 7 October 1973. The war of liberation had begun

Arms and the man

The first military parade in Egypt in 17 years was staged in Ismailia, as Galal Nassar reports

In a wide-ranging three day symposium, organised by the armed forces and addressed by President Mubarak, top military and civilian experts discussed the lessons and ramifications of the "Crossing". Al-Ahram Weekly reviews the debate
October reflections In an unprecedented three-day symposium organised by the armed forces, experts, academics and intellectuals took stock of the October 1973 War, discussing the military, political, economic and social dimensions of the victory.
The will to fight Expert political analysts discussed how the war opened the way to diplomatic efforts that eventually made it possible for Egypt and Israel to sign a peace treaty in 1979. Nevine Khalil reviews the debate	From Suez to shanty towns In a debate on the social dimensions of the October War, researchers asked why Egypt has been unable to use the ingenuity and resourcefulness embodied in it to address the country's deep-rooted social problems. Gihan Shahine reports Financing liberation Burdened by the losses of the 1967 War, mobilising all its resources for the struggle to come, Egypt was still far from an economic nightmare in October 1973. Sherine Abdel-Razek and Shaimaa Labib review the economic component of the seminar
The last war? President Sadat described the October War as the last between the Arabs and Israel. Twenty-five years later, experts agreed that the assumption still holds. Rasha Saad reports
Oil in the battle For the first time -- and, to date, the last -- the Arabs succeeded in using one of their most abundant natural resources to make both political and economic gains. Niveen Wahish reviews a debate on the oil-weapon, 25 years later
"Nobody is going to fight for us" Reviewing the military conduct of the October War, protagonists and commentators examined the options open to the underdogs of 1967, and how defeat was turned into victory. Galal Nassar reports

The spirit
of October

Osama El-Baz on the historic significance of the October war

They said about October
Extracts from the book "The October War through the Eyes of Contemporary Witnesses", published by the State Information Service in October 1998.

Below, some of the commanders and men of the October war recall the heady days of heroism and sacrifice, as well as the expert planning and plain dedicated hard work, without which October '73 would have been impossible

In our pocket
Lt. Gen. [retr'd] Saad Ma'moun tells the story of the Israeli incursion at El-Devresoir, and recalls how diplomacy prevented him from liquidating the Israeli pocket west of the Suez Canal

Gundi 'God wanted
to reward me'
Maj. Gen. Mahmoud Khalil and Maj. Gen. Hamdi El-Hadidi -- two heroes of the October War -- spoke to Jailan Halawi of their triumph and sacrifice

Into the breach,
dear friends
Maj. Gen. [retr'd] Hassan El-Gretli on the planning and execution of the operation code-named 'Badr'

Victory or death
Brig. Gen. Youssri Emara became a war hero when he captured the commander of the Israeli 190th Armoured Brigade

Letters from the front
Vivid memories of names, places and events are engraved in the hearts and minds of the soldiers who took part in the war. Lameece Abdel-Ghani listens to extraordinary tales of ordinary men in the trenches

Dambusters on the Bar Lev Line
Only nuclear weapons could destroy the Bar Lev line, it was claimed. Maj. Gen. [retr'd] Gamal Mohamed Ali and his men, drawing on the experience of the Aswan High Dam, did it with water. He tells the story

Building a wall of missiles Much remains to be revealed about the War of Attrition, especially when it comes to the men behind the front lines. Abdel-Malek Khalil, in Moscow, meets two former Soviet military commanders who told him how they helped install an anti-aircraft missile system to protect Egyptian skies A brave new world Wadie Kirolos remembers the day he crossed the Suez Canal -- not as a warrior but as a pool correspondent	The October war's silver jubilee was an occasion for reflection. Below Galal Nassar samples the debate
	A new social contract Hussein Kamel Bahaeddin Triumph of the will Alieddin Hilal	'A purely Arab victory' Abdel-Sattar Amin Setting the stage Gamal Hammad

	Armed and dangerous Military might has been both the guidind principle and the practical policy of Zionist plans for the creation of Israel, writes Galal Nassar
Israeli strategy in Sinai after 1967 Following the 1967 war, Israel was convinced that the defeat it had delivered to the Arabs had established once and for all its absolute and inviolable military superiority. Arab military formations, they believed, were impotent against the rapid manoeuvrability of the Israel artillery forces

Victory at the box office
Many films have been made about Arab-Israeli wars, particularly the 1973 War, but most of them are commercial productions with little artistic ambition. Hani Mustafa goes on a turkey shoot

From Tiba to Taba
A very big ship, a very new opera, and a lot of walkie-talkies went into making the two spectacular musical celebrations that awed viewers this week, among them President Mubarak. Fatemah Farag went on a reconnaissance mission behind the scenes

Suez celebrates 'Joys of Victory'
Military parades, poetry and awards were just a few of the gala events organised by the governorate of Suez for the 25th anniversary of 6 October. Mahmoud Bakr reviews the festivities from the former front-line city

Anniversary wedding
About 500 couples received a special tribute as part of this year's October War celebrations -- the government married them off! Nadia Abou El-Magd reports.