Six Days of War by Michael B. Oren
Another one of those books I stumbled on and bought, and I’m glad I did. Even though the events occurred more than 40 years ago, it’s still the same fight being fought, with nearly all the same players (except the USSR, and perhaps Iraq, barring any foolishness after the election. Russia still has a role to play in the Middle East, though; technology to Iran?). It’s the same impotent UN, the same dead-end Arabs, and the same dithering from the US government.
I think most of us are familiar with the strategic victory of the Israelis, with their lightning pre-emptive strike on Egypt’s air power. What’s amazing are some of the diplomatic details. When it became clear Israel was going to smash the united Arab nations, the Israeli goal was to seize as much territory as possible before the UN forced a cease-fire. Early in the conflict, the US government presented a cease-fire plan to the UN security council, and the Israelis, for diplomatic reasons, pretended to be pleased with the plan (while hoping that they would have a few more days to consolidate their gains). Nasser, on the other hand, in desperate need of a cease-fire, was forced (somewhat due to his own propaganda – "We’re in Tel Aviv!") to reject the cease-fire. The result was more time to secure the Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, the Old City of Jerusalem, and the Sinai peninsula.
Anyway, I found the book very readable and actually very balanced. Nasser and Amer are given equal time with Eshkol and Dayan. I would recommend it to anyone interested in a better understanding of the situation in the Middle East.
Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East
