Britain, the Transatlantic Alliance, and the Arab-Israeli War of 1973

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Britain, the Transatlantic Alliance, and the Arab-Israeli War of 1973 HugBritain,hes the Transatlantic Alliance, and the Arab-Israeli War of 1973 Britain, the Transatlantic Alliance, and the Arab-Israeli War of 1973 ✣ Geraint Hughes The Yom Kippur, or Ramadan, war of 6–25 October 1973 cost the lives of 2,687 Israelis and 15,000–16,000 Arabs.1 The war also disrupted the incipient U.S.-Soviet détente and spurred Arab oil producers to impose an oil embargo against the West on 17 October 1973, contributing to a global recession and sparking a temporary rift between the United States and its allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). West European politicians blamed the United States for provoking the embargo through its assistance to Israel and resented U.S. demands for unqualiªed support in the Middle East. A comment attributed to Henry Kissinger at the time—that “I don’t care what happens to NATO. I’m so disgusted”—may have been apocryphal, but it reºected the irritation that President Richard Nixon’s na- tional security adviser felt toward the European allies. On the other side of the Atlantic, British Prime Minister Edward Heath was dismayed by the U.S. de- cision to raise the alert level of U.S. nuclear forces to Defense Condition 3 (DEFCON3) without giving his government adequate warning.2 The intra- Western crisis caused by the 1973 Arab-Israeli war can therefore be compared with other cases of transatlantic discord, such as those concerning Suez in 1956, the Polish crisis of 1980–1982, the Bosnian civil war from 1992 to 1995, and the Iraq war of 2003. Scholars have studied many aspects of the October 1973 war, particularly the military dimension of the conºict, the implications of the war for the intractable feud between Israel and its Arab neighbors, and the effects of the 1. As far as casualties are concerned, the 1973 war was exceeded only by the 1948 war of independence and the 1967 Six-Day War. See Ahron Bregman, Israel’s Wars, 1947–93 (London: Routledge, 2000), pp. 23, 92; and Michael B. Oren, Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002), p. 304. 2. Raymond Garthoff, Détente and Confrontation: American-Soviet Relations from Nixon to Reagan (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 1994), p. 482; and Heath to Lord Bridges (Private Secretary to Prime Minister), 28 October 1973, in PREM15/1382, The National Archives of the United Kingdom (TNAUK). Journal of Cold War Studies Vol. 10, No. 2, Spring 2008, pp. 3–40 © 2008 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 3 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/jcws.2008.10.2.3 by guest on 30 September 2021 Hughes crisis on the Cold War.3 Less attention has been paid, however, to the wider diplomatic implications for transatlantic ties. Although Raymond Garthoff deals sympathetically with West European criticisms of the Nixon administra- tion’s policies during and after the October 1973 war, other accounts tend to echo Kissinger’s portrayal of the European allies as having jeopardized the West’s collective interests in the Middle East because of their economic self- interest and lack of resolve when faced with the Arab oil embargo.4 More re- cently, though, scholars have begun to look more closely at the West Euro- pean countries’ decision to break ranks with the United States.5 This article focuses on Britain’s part in the conºict, affording an additional perspective on the diplomatic confrontation that accompanied the clash of Israeli, Egyptian, and Syrian armies in the Sinai desert and the Golan Heights. The article pro- vides a corrective to the stark accusations of myopia and spinelessness leveled by Kissinger and other U.S. ofªcials against Britain and other NATO allies in late 1973. Although the interaction between U.S. and British policies in the Middle East during the post-1945 period has attracted considerable attention, schol- ars have tended to focus on the rise of the United States in replacing Britain as the dominant external power in the region. Some have depicted this process as a “changing of the guard” that suited British strategic and economic interests, whereas others argue that it was a hostile takeover in which a weakened Brit- ain was muscled out of the Arab world by its supposed ally. Historians have also debated the precise point at which the decline of British inºuence in the 3. Bregman, Israel’s Wars, pp. 66–94; Chaim Herzog, The Arab-Israeli Wars: War and Peace in the Mid- dle East (London: Arms and Armour Press, 1982); The Sunday Times Insight Team, The Yom Kippur War (London: Andre Deutsch, 1975); Walter Laquer, Confrontation: The Middle East and World Poli- tics (London: Sphere, 1974); Edgar O’Ballance, No Victor, No Vanquished: The Yom Kippur War (Lon- don: Barrie and Jenkins, 1979); and Abraham Rabinovich, The Yom Kippur War (New York: Schocken Books, 2004). For memoirs, see Richard Nixon, RN: The Memoirs of Richard Nixon (New York: Touchstone, 1990); Henry Kissinger, Years of Upheaval (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1982); Victor Israelyan, Inside the Kremlin during the Yom Kippur War (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995); and Mohamed Heikal, The Road to Ramadan (London: Collins, 1975). Arabs refer to the 1973 conºict as the Ramadan War, and the Israelis and most Western scholars refer to it as the Yom Kippur War. Throughout this article I will refer to it as the 1973 war or the October war. 4. Garthoff, Détente and Confrontation, pp. 450–454. The tendency to portray European policies in 1973 in a negative light is evident in Kissinger’s Years of Upheaval, pp. 707–722. See also Coral Bell, “The October Middle East War: A Case Study in Crisis Management during Détente,” International Affairs, Vol. 50, No. 4 (October 1974), pp. 539–540; Walter J. Boyne, The Two O’Clock War: The 1973 Yom Kippur Conºict and the Airlift That Saved Israel (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2002), pp. 87–88, 165; and Laquer, Confrontation, pp. 181–187. 5. The ªndings of a conference on European-American relations from 1956 to 2003, sponsored by the Center for Security Studies, ETH Zurich, will eventually be published. Daniel Moeckli’s European Political Cooperation: The EC’s Struggle towards a Common Foreign Policy, 1969–74 (London: I. B. Tauris, forthcoming) also covers the impact of the 1973 war on U.S.-West European relations. 4 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/jcws.2008.10.2.3 by guest on 30 September 2021 Britain, the Transatlantic Alliance, and the Arab-Israeli War of 1973 Middle East began. Some have cited 1956 (the Suez crisis), others point to 1958 (the overthrow of the pro-British monarchy in Iraq), and still others have mentioned 1971 (the year the withdrawal of British garrisons from the Persian Gulf was completed).6 Yet in spite of the protracted decline of regional inºuence, successive British governments continued to act as though their country had a role to play in Middle Eastern affairs. This attitude was not merely a product of vainglory or imperialistic nostalgia; rather, it derived from geopolitical and economic realities. The Middle East was a focal point for Cold War competition because of the Arab-Israeli conºict, Soviet efforts to exploit regional tensions and to bolster its position as the patron of “progres- sive” Arab regimes and political movements, and the crucial economic impor- tance of regional oil supplies for West European countries. The United Kingdom’s status in the international sphere had diminished by the early 1970s, but British policymakers wanted to uphold their country’s strategic and commercial interests in the Arab world.7 In addition, the article challenges received wisdom about the postwar Anglo-American alliance. The dispute between the Heath government and the Nixon administration over the 1973 war does not ªt well with the views of those who, like Scott Lucas, contend that “Britain paid the price of perma- nent subservience to American policy” in order to mend relations with the United States after Suez. The depiction of the “special relationship” as one of dominance and obedience has recently been popularized by critics of Tony Blair’s decision to support the U.S.-led war in Iraq.8 Yet the image of a subser- vient Britain forced to subordinate its foreign policy interests to those of its superpower ally is a caricature. The Arab-Israeli war of 1973 was one of sev- eral issues during the Cold War that provoked Anglo-American discord, and this episode poses three questions for scholars. Why did Britain side with its West European partners in refusing to endorse the Nixon administration’s policies in October 1973? How was the rift between Washington and London 6. See, for example, Nigel Ashton, Eisenhower, Macmillan and the Problem of Nasser: Anglo-American Relations and Arab Nationalism, 1955–59 (Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave, 1996); Peter Hahn, The United States, Great Britain and Egypt, 1945–1956 (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1991); W. Scott Lucas, Divided We Stand: Britain, the US and the Suez Crisis (London: Sceptre, 1991); Ritchie Ovendale, Britain, the United States and the Transfer of Power in the Middle East, 1945–1962 (London: Leicester University Press, 1996); and Simon C. Smith, “Power Transferred? Britain, the United States, and the Gulf, 1956–71,” in Contemporary British History, Vol. 21, No. 1 (January 2007), pp. 1–23. 7. DOP(73)26, Oman, 2 April 1973, in CAB148/130, TNAUK; CM(73)46th, 16 October 1973, in CAB128/53, TNAUK; and Clive Jones and John Stone, “Britain and the Arabian Gulf: New Perspec- tives on Strategic Inºuence,” International Relations, Vol.
Recommended publications
  • COI QUERY Disclaimer
    COI QUERY Country of Origin/Topic Lebanon Question(s) 1. Information on entry/exit requirements and procedure for Palestinians with passports 2. Information on entry/exit requirements and procedure for Palestinians without passports Date of completion 20 February 2020 Query Code Q4-2020 Contributing EU+ COI units (if applicable) Disclaimer This response to a COI query has been elaborated according to the Common EU Guidelines for Processing COI and EASO COI Report Methodology. The information provided in this response has been researched, evaluated and processed with utmost care within a limited time frame. All sources used are referenced. A quality review has been performed in line with the above mentioned methodology. This document does not claim to be exhaustive neither conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to international protection. If a certain event, person or organisation is not mentioned in the report, this does not mean that the event has not taken place or that the person or organisation does not exist. Terminology used should not be regarded as indicative of a particular legal position. The information in the response does not necessarily reflect the opinion of EASO and makes no political statement whatsoever. The target audience is caseworkers, COI researchers, policy makers, and decision making authorities. The answer was finalised on the 20 February 2020. Any event taking place after this date is not included in this answer. 1 COI QUERY RESPONSE 1. Information on entry/exit requirements and procedure for Palestinians
    [Show full text]
  • Paradigms Sometimes Fit: the Haredi Response to the Yom Kippur War
    Paradigms Sometimes Fit: The Haredi Response to the Yom Kippur War CHARLES s. LIEBMAN This essay is an effort to understand Jewish ultra-orthodox Haredi reaction to the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Attention is confined to the large central segment of Haredi society represented in the political arena by Agudat Israel - the only Haredi political party which existed in the period covered here. The hypothesis which guided my research was that between 1973 and the elections of 1977, changes took place in Haredi conceptions of the state of Israel and the wider society which led Agudat Israel to join the government coalition. I have sought to explore this hypothe­ sis by comparing Haredi responses to the Yom Kippur War with their reactions to the Six Day War of June 1967. I assumed that the striking victory of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) in the Six Day War would pose serious problems for Haredim. The Six Day War superficially, at least, seemed to be a vindication of Zionism, of secular Israel and the capacity of human design. The Yom Kippur War, on the other hand, seemed to reflect the tentative and insecure status of Israel, its isolation from the world and the folly of Israel's leaders. It, more than any of Israel's wars, might help narrow the sense of alienation that Haredim heretofore have felt. The tragedy and trauma of the war and the deep scars it left in Israeli society would serve, so I anticipated, to evoke in Haredi eyes the age-old experience of the Jewish people since the destruction of the Temple.
    [Show full text]
  • Suez 1956 24 Planning the Intervention 26 During the Intervention 35 After the Intervention 43 Musketeer Learning 55
    Learning from the History of British Interventions in the Middle East 55842_Kettle.indd842_Kettle.indd i 006/09/186/09/18 111:371:37 AAMM 55842_Kettle.indd842_Kettle.indd iiii 006/09/186/09/18 111:371:37 AAMM Learning from the History of British Interventions in the Middle East Louise Kettle 55842_Kettle.indd842_Kettle.indd iiiiii 006/09/186/09/18 111:371:37 AAMM Edinburgh University Press is one of the leading university presses in the UK. We publish academic books and journals in our selected subject areas across the humanities and social sciences, combining cutting-edge scholarship with high editorial and production values to produce academic works of lasting importance. For more information visit our website: edinburghuniversitypress.com © Louise Kettle, 2018 Edinburgh University Press Ltd The Tun – Holyrood Road, 12(2f) Jackson’s Entry, Edinburgh EH8 8PJ Typeset in 11/1 3 Adobe Sabon by IDSUK (DataConnection) Ltd, and printed and bound in Great Britain. A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 1 4744 3795 0 (hardback) ISBN 978 1 4744 3797 4 (webready PDF) ISBN 978 1 4744 3798 1 (epub) The right of Louise Kettle to be identifi ed as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, and the Copyright and Related Rights Regulations 2003 (SI No. 2498). 55842_Kettle.indd842_Kettle.indd iivv 006/09/186/09/18 111:371:37 AAMM Contents Acknowledgements vii 1. Learning from History 1 Learning from History in Whitehall 3 Politicians Learning from History 8 Learning from the History of Military Interventions 9 How Do We Learn? 13 What is Learning from History? 15 Who Learns from History? 16 The Learning Process 18 Learning from the History of British Interventions in the Middle East 21 2.
    [Show full text]
  • The Munich Massacre: a New History
    The Munich Massacre: A New History Eppie Briggs (aka Marigold Black) A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of BA (Hons) in History University of Sydney October 2011 1 Contents Introduction and Historiography Part I – Quiet the Zionist Rage 1. The Burdened Alliance 2. Domestic Unrest Part II – Rouse the Global Wrath 3. International Condemnation 4. The New Terrorism Conclusion 2 Acknowledgments I would like to thank first and foremost Dr Glenda Sluga to whom I am greatly indebted for her guidance, support and encouragement. Without Glenda‟s sage advice, the writing of this thesis would have been an infinitely more difficult and painful experience. I would also like to thank Dr Michael Ondaatje for his excellent counsel, good-humour and friendship throughout the last few years. Heartfelt thanks go to Elise and Dean Briggs for all their love, support and patience and finally, to Angus Harker and Janie Briggs. I cannot adequately convey the thanks I owe Angus and Janie for their encouragement, love, and strength, and for being a constant reminder as to why I was writing this thesis. 3 Abstract This thesis examines the Nixon administration’s response to the Munich Massacre; a terrorist attack which took place at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. By examining the contextual considerations influencing the administration’s response in both the domestic and international spheres, this thesis will determine the manner in which diplomatic intricacies impacted on the introduction of precedent setting counterterrorism institutions. Furthermore, it will expound the correlation between the Nixon administration’s response and a developing conceptualisation of acts of modern international terrorism.
    [Show full text]
  • War and Diplomacy: the Suez Crisis
    1 Professor Pnina Lahav, Boston University School of Law C.) Please do not use, quote or distribute without author’s permission War and Diplomacy: The Suez Crisis 1. Introduction Stephen M. Griffin, Long Wars and the Constitution, and Mariah Zeisberg’s War Powers, are two remarkable books that certainly deserve an entire symposium devoted to them. These books complement each other in the same way that the war powers, some vested in Congress and others in the President, are in correspondence with each other. Griffin’s book revolves around the history of the war powers since 1945, and in this sense is more empirical. Its thesis is that the cold war and Truman’s subsequent decision to launch the war in Korea destabilized American constitutionalism. In the following decades the United States has found itself confronting an endless string of constitutional crises related to the deployment of troops abroad, and the quest for a formula to resolve the constitutional puzzles is as strong as ever. Zeisberg’s book, which took advantage of the fact that Griffin’s book preceded it, is more normative, even though it should be emphasized that Griffin also offers important normative insights. Both books are anchored in democratic theory in that they emphasize the cardinal significance of inter-branch deliberation. Both endorse the notion that the implicit assumption underlying the text of the Constitution is that while the war powers are divided between the legislative and executive branches, these institutions are expected to deliberate internally as well as externally when confronting the critical matter of war.
    [Show full text]
  • The Arab-Israel War of 1967 1967 Was the Year of the Six-Day War
    The Arab-Israel War of 1967 1967 was the year of the six-day war. Here we bring together its impact on Israel and on the Jewish communities in the Arab countries; United States Middle East policy and United Nations deliberations; effects on the East European Communist bloc, its citizens, and its Jewish communities, and American opinion. For discus- sions of reactions in other parts of the world, see the reviews of individual countries. THE EDITORS Middle East Israel A ALL aspects of Israel's life in 1967 were dominated by the explosion of hostilities on June 5. Two decades of Arab-Israel tension culminated in a massive combined Arab military threat, which was answered by a swift mobilization of Israel's citizen army and, after a period of waiting for international action, by a powerful offensive against the Egyptian, Jor- danian and Syrian forces, leading to the greatest victory in Jewish military annals. During the weeks of danger preceding the six-day war, Jewry throughout the world rallied to Israel's aid: immediate financial support was forthcoming on an unprecedented scale, and thousands of young volunteers offered per- sonal participation in Israel's defense, though they arrived too late to affect the issue (see reviews of individual countries). A new upsurge of national confidence swept away the morale crisis that had accompanied the economic slowdown in 1966. The worldwide Jewish reaction to Israel's danger, and the problems associated with the extension of its military rule over a million more Arabs, led to a reappraisal of atti- tudes towards diaspora Jewry.
    [Show full text]
  • Timeline of the Cold War
    Timeline of the Cold War 1945 Defeat of Germany and Japan February 4-11: Yalta Conference meeting of FDR, Churchill, Stalin - the 'Big Three' Soviet Union has control of Eastern Europe. The Cold War Begins May 8: VE Day - Victory in Europe. Germany surrenders to the Red Army in Berlin July: Potsdam Conference - Germany was officially partitioned into four zones of occupation. August 6: The United States drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima (20 kiloton bomb 'Little Boy' kills 80,000) August 8: Russia declares war on Japan August 9: The United States drops atomic bomb on Nagasaki (22 kiloton 'Fat Man' kills 70,000) August 14 : Japanese surrender End of World War II August 15: Emperor surrender broadcast - VJ Day 1946 February 9: Stalin hostile speech - communism & capitalism were incompatible March 5 : "Sinews of Peace" Iron Curtain Speech by Winston Churchill - "an "iron curtain" has descended on Europe" March 10: Truman demands Russia leave Iran July 1: Operation Crossroads with Test Able was the first public demonstration of America's atomic arsenal July 25: America's Test Baker - underwater explosion 1947 Containment March 12 : Truman Doctrine - Truman declares active role in Greek Civil War June : Marshall Plan is announced setting a precedent for helping countries combat poverty, disease and malnutrition September 2: Rio Pact - U.S. meet 19 Latin American countries and created a security zone around the hemisphere 1948 Containment February 25 : Communist takeover in Czechoslovakia March 2: Truman's Loyalty Program created to catch Cold War
    [Show full text]
  • Motivations Behind the Suez Crisis
    W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1993 Motivations Behind the Suez Crisis Benjamin Joel Goldberg College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the International Relations Commons, and the Islamic World and Near East History Commons Recommended Citation Goldberg, Benjamin Joel, "Motivations Behind the Suez Crisis" (1993). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539625839. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-jyqz-0q85 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. MOTIVATIONS BEHIND THE SUEZ CRISIS A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of History The College of William and Mary In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Benjamin J. Goldberg 1993 APPROVAL SHEET This Thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degre of Masters of Arts ^ Benjamiff J. Goldberg Approved, May 1993 Edward P j] Crapol Richard B. Sherman Philip J. Funlgiello 11 DEDICATION This work is for my Grandfather, Julian Schultz. He always insisted that his grandchildren obtain as much education as they could. Here I am. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements.............. v Abstract................................................... vi Chapter One: Introduction to a Crisis......................1 Chapter Two: Leading up to the Crisis.....................11 Chapter Three: The Crisis and Its Players................
    [Show full text]
  • Palestinian Groups
    1 Ron’s Web Site • North Shore Flashpoints • http://northshoreflashpoints.blogspot.com/ 2 Palestinian Groups • 1955-Egypt forms Fedayeem • Official detachment of armed infiltrators from Gaza National Guard • “Those who sacrifice themselves” • Recruited ex-Nazis for training • Fatah created in 1958 • Young Palestinians who had fled Gaza when Israel created • Core group came out of the Palestinian Students League at Cairo University that included Yasser Arafat (related to the Grand Mufti) • Ideology was that liberation of Palestine had to preceed Arab unity 3 Palestinian Groups • PLO created in 1964 by Arab League Summit with Ahmad Shuqueri as leader • Founder (George Habash) of Arab National Movement formed in 1960 forms • Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) in December of 1967 with Ahmad Jibril • Popular Democratic Front for the Liberation (PDFLP) for the Liberation of Democratic Palestine formed in early 1969 by Nayif Hawatmah 4 Palestinian Groups Fatah PFLP PDFLP Founder Arafat Habash Hawatmah Religion Sunni Christian Christian Philosophy Recovery of Palestine Radicalize Arab regimes Marxist Leninist Supporter All regimes Iraq Syria 5 Palestinian Leaders Ahmad Jibril George Habash Nayif Hawatmah 6 Mohammed Yasser Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf Arafat al-Qudwa • 8/24/1929 - 11/11/2004 • Born in Cairo, Egypt • Father born in Gaza of an Egyptian mother • Mother from Jerusalem • Beaten by father for going into Jewish section of Cairo • Graduated from University of King Faud I (1944-1950) • Fought along side Muslim Brotherhood
    [Show full text]
  • Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict: 1948– 1970
    PALESTINE AND THE ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT: 1948– 1970 by Dr Charles D. Smith, University of Arizona With the declaration of Israeli independence on May 14, 1948, the nature of the Arab-Israeli conflict and Britain’s role in it entered a new phase. Before Israel’s creation, the conflict was one between Zionism and the Palestinian Arabs that originated prior to World War I as a result of Jewish immigration into Palestine with the goal of ultimately creating a Jewish state. This objective had gained official recognition with the issuance of the Balfour Declaration by Great Britain on November 2, 1917. It promised British support to create “in Palestine a national home for the Jewish people,” understood by British and Zionist officials to mean a Jewish state in all of Palestine. Once the Balfour Declaration was incorporated into the 1922 British mandate for Palestine, Britain was obligated to prepare an incoming Jewish population for self-government, not the existing Arab population; mandates had been instituted with the idea of preparing local inhabitants for future independence. As the mandatory power responsible for Palestine, Britain had faced an Arab revolt in the 1930s which it had crushed, and then a Jewish revolt from 1945 onward demanding a Jewish state. Faced with world knowledge of the Holocaust and American pressure favouring Zionism, Britain decided to abdicate its responsibility and in February 1947 handed the Palestine question over to the newly formed United Nations, though British forces remained in Palestine to May 1948. The U.N. General Assembly approved recommendations for partition of Palestine into a Jewish and an Arab state in November 1947, leading to intense civil strife between Jews and mostly Palestinian Arabs that resulted in the creation of Israel.
    [Show full text]
  • Decolonization in the British Empire at the End of the Second World War, Britain Still Controlled the Largest Empire in World History
    Decolonization in the British Empire At the end of the Second World War, Britain still controlled the largest empire in world history. Thanks largely to the empire, Britain raised enough supplies to sustain its war effort and took its place at the top table of the victorious powers alongside the United States and the Soviet Union. It was, however, a Pyrrhic victory; the war drained Britain’s finances and significantly lowered its prestige in the colonies. Less than two decades later, the British had given up almost all of their empire. This reading examines the period from 1945 to 1963, when the British surrendered almost all of their overseas colonies. There will be special focus on India, Kenya, Malaya (Malaysia), and Egypt. Finally, we will examine the legacy of empire for today’s Britain. The Effects of the Second World War The experience of the Second World War was not the sole reason that Britain eventually lost its colonies, but without the war the decolonization process doubtless would have taken longer. It is worth noting, however, that the origins of nationalist and anticolonial revolt across the British Empire were often rooted in the early twentieth century. After the First World War, British imperialists still preached about the superiority of Western (especially British) civilization, but their arguments often fell on deaf ears. Many subject peoples, especially Indians, had fought on the Western Front in the First World War. They saw that the British were no more immune to machine guns than any other group of people. They also observed Britain’s weakened state after the First World War and during the economic crisis of the 1930s.
    [Show full text]
  • The Yom Kippur War: Forty Years Later
    The Yom Kippur War: Forty Years Later By HIC research assistant Philip Cane Background Yom Kippur, October 6th 1973, at five minutes past two precisely, 4,000 artillery pieces, 250 aircraft and dozens of FROG missiles1 struck Israeli positions along the Suez Canal and the Sinai, at the same time along the Golan Heights 1,400 tanks2 advanced towards Israel. The equivalent of the total conventional forces of NATO in Europe3, eleven Arab nations4 led by Egypt and Syria had begun an advance into Israeli territory gained in the 1967 Six Day War. The largest Arab-Israeli War would end in an Israeli tactical victory5, but for the first week the fate of Israel itself would be doubted, ‘most Israelis still refer to it as an earthquake that changed the course of the state’s history.’6 The war changed the perceptions of all levels of society in the Middle East and forty years later its ripples are still felt to this day. The Yom Kippur War fell on the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, a Saturday (the Jewish Sabbath) when the alertness of Israeli forces were notably reduced and only a skeleton force7 would be on duty with radio and TV stations shut down hampering mobilisation8. This has led some writers such as Trevor Dupuy and Chaim Herzog to state that this was the primary motive for any such attack9. But it what is not often known is that October 6th is the tenth and holiest day of Ramadan10, when the Prophet Mohammed conquered Mecca which resulted in all of Arabia being Arabic11.
    [Show full text]