During the Six Day War pitting Israel against its Arab neighbors in 1967, Americans were thrust into the crisis — even though they weren’t directly involved in the fighting.
After Israel pre-emptively attacked Egyptian forces on June 5, 1967, much of the Arab world came to Cairo’s aid. Recently-declassified messages describe American fliers handling their own chaotic situations at bases in North Africa and the Middle East.
“The situation at Wheelus characterized by uneasy calm,” one cable reported on June 6, 1967, referring to the American air base just east of the Libyan capital Tripoli. “Evacuation continues throughout other affected Mid-East areas.”
War Is Boring obtained the two cables through the Freedom of Information Act. Back in ’67, the U.S. Air Force’s main headquarters had sent the messages to every major Air Force command around the globe in an effort to keep commanders informed.
Right up until Israel’s lightning offensive, Washington had done its best to maintain good relations with both Tel Aviv and Arab countries. Successive American administrations had felt this policy of not favoring either side was essential to preventing the Soviet Union from expanding its sphere of influence.
So strong was this belief, that Pres. Dwight Eisenhower effectively sided with Moscow after British, French and Israeli troops invaded Egypt in 1956. The three countries had banded together in secret to plan the mission after Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser seized control of the Suez Canal and threatened to close off the important gateway to Western powers.
The incident complicated Washington’s relations with governments throughout the region. Eisenhower and other American politicians refused to support the Anglo-French-Israeli operation and publicly rebuked the coalition.
“Washington indeed disliked Nasser, but it abhorred European colonialism even more,” American-born historian Michael Oren wrote in his 2003 book Six Days of War. But Eisenhower ultimately made pledges in private with Israeli officials to help protect the Jewish state’s security, as well.
Read the Remainder at War is Boring
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