Our finest moment
The anniversary of the 1973 war is upon us, a day on which the country proudly celebrates one of its finest moments. What we achieved in the military and diplomatic battle 30 years ago should remind the Arabs that they can be a force to be reckoned with so long as they pool their military, political and economic strengths. When Egypt and Syria coordinated their military action and the oil-rich countries backed them with economic and diplomatic pressure, the Arabs were able to successfully challenge the myth of Israeli invincibility.
In 1973 Arab leaders were able to differentiate between the actual and the potential. Israel's relative military superiority and its powerful international supporters could have been discouraging but the Arabs were sure they were ready for battle and -- for once -- played their international cards right.
Should we, as Arabs, see ourselves as others want us to see us, or should we challenge their version of reality? We are a proud people, and we know how to stand up for our rights. But first we must identify our strengths and recognise our weaknesses.
We have to reject the helplessness our enemies are trying to foist upon us. This is the one lesson we should learn from 6 October. The future is ours, but only if we recall our latent sources of strength, reject the enemy's version of reality, and act in the interests of the Arab people.
* This week's Soapbox speaker is deputy director of Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies.
Al-Ahram Weekly Online : 2 - 8 October 2003 (Issue No. 658)
Located at: http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/658/op7.htm