“Had Israel lost the war in 1967, neither Egypt, Jordan or Syria would have volunteered to establish a Palestinian state. One can further bet that the Palestinians would have remained merely Arabs who belonged to the Arab nation, worshipping the pan-Arab high priest and prophet, Gamal Abdul Nasser.”
The result would not have been peace for the region or the world, Leftist fantasies notwithstanding. Throwing Israel to the wolves would only increase their appetite for more Arab/Islamist expansion.
One thing I was hoping for in this article are what could have been done to secure the peace after Israel won the 1967 War.
When a democracy goes to war, there must be a clear objective that is mindful of preventing further war.
Whacking the hornet’s nest by consigning the Arabs living in Golan, the West Bank and Gaza to ambiguous status was doomed to increase the chance of further conflict.
Israel should have annexed those areas outright. The Arabs who were living there should have been offered Israeli citizenship, with the proviso that they remain loyal and non-violent. Those who did not would be imprisoned and/or expelled.
Groups that advocated the destruction of the Jewish State would have been outlawed, with its leaders and active members imprisoned and/or deported.
There might still have been a PLO, HAMAS, PIJ, etc., but their recruiting ground would have been a lot less fertile.
In war, there are only three possible outcomes: Victory, defeat or a continuation of war. By failing to annex the staging grounds for an upcoming Arab attack after having defeated them, Israel guaranteed continued bloodshed, which is still ongoing two generations later as a result.
back then, don’t forget too that the Soviets were funding and arming Nasser in Egypt (he was given Hero of the USSR award), Syria, and the PLO.
They would’ve established a Pan-Arab communist state (really just a caliphate without Islam at the fore, which is what Pan-Arabism was) and the Soviets would’ve had the whole middle east with oil and the rest. Given actual economic resources there, unlike in ‘Nam, the domino theory would’ve occurred there. We could’ve lost the Cold War.
Also to armydawg, most of the time I see the USS Liberty implied as anything other than an accident, its usually from leftist kooks. It was shown to be an accident. The end.