The Soviets began a thrust in midyear 1970 that deepened their military involvement in Egypt. According to Rodman, they did this by “flying combat air patrols over the Suez Canal and manning the missile batteries against Israeli planes” in the Egyptian-Israeli War of Attrition.
The United States, in turn, augmented its arms sales to Israel, convincing Egypt’s new president, Anwar Sadat, that America held all the cards and was the only force that could possibly influence prospects for peace in the Middle East.
Gartoff says that the ensuing disillusionment with his Soviet backers over the provision of advanced weapons, as well as the perceived inadequacy of Moscow’s diplomatic and military support, led Sadat to expel “the approximately 20,000 Soviet military advisers and technicians in Egypt, as well as the Soviet reconnaissance aircraft based there, and [he] sharply curtailed any Soviet use of military facilities in his country ….
Sadat had decided that he could not rely on the Soviets to help him recover occupied Egyptian territory. Meanwhile, he prepared for a limited war with Israel as a means of reopening the occupation issue.
Like Cuba in 1959, Egypt transferred loyalty from one superpower to another in the midst of the Cold War conflict, and, gradually, the US replaced the Soviets as Egypt’s main military supplier.
As the US gained influence in Egypt and the Middle East, the superpower sought to exclude the Soviet Union from regional affairs, particularly from the evolving peace process.
Although Egypt’s shifting allegiances did not prevent — and may, in fact, have spurred — the Yom Kippur War of 1973, Sadat’s actions ultimately contributed to the successful negotiation of a peace agreement for the Middle East.
If you enjoyed this article about Egypt during the Cold War, you will want to look at some related posts. Just click on the links below.
COLD WAR LEGACY: EGYPT’S EMERGENCY LAW 162 OF 1958
CLIENT STATES? JUST HOW DEPENDENT IS THE ARAB WORLD ON THE UNITED STATES?
EGYPT, SUEZ, AND THE DYNAMICS OF SUPERPOWER INTERVENTION IN THE MIDDLE EAST
COLD WAR ARGUMENT 2011: POLITICAL ORDER IN A CHANGING EGYPT!
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
My question is: how does the alliance with the Soviet Union in the 1950s affect it today?
During the period that Egypt was allied with the Soviet Union, the country became increasingly militarized. By 1970 when Sadat
took office, Sadat and other Egyptian military leaders had become wary of the Soviet military’s increasing influence on national affairs.
Still, the Soviets had bolstered the Egyptian military through technical support and arms supplies. When Sadat determined that he
could no longer trust the Soviets, the Egyptian military was in a much stronger position than it had been in before the alliance began.
Also, when Sadat turned to the US for arms and support, the military was further bolstered. Today, as we have seen, the military has
been the determining factor in Egyptian politics. The military is also a pre-eminent player in Egypt’s economy.The military’s strength
has its roots in the Soviet period. Given the problems that are now in the headlines — sectarian strife and criminal activity — we’ll have to
wait and see if they can successfully handle Egypt’s transition.
hi, i just have one little question: how did the cuba missiles crisis affected the delegation of egypt and waht measures were taken and what measures can be taken, also a little question had egypt made proposals about how to resolve the problem ?
how did the collapse of the USSR contibuted to egypt re-imagining itself in the 1990′s
the collapse of the ussr (russia) contibuted to egype re imagining itself if the 1990′s is by having them leaving russia and joining america; so basically they ditched russia and became friends with us (america)
{ 1 trackback }