This episode launches a new series tracing the 20th-century roots of current Middle East conflicts, focusing on the period between the 1956 Suez Crisis and the lead-up to the 1967 Six-Day War. Expert Eugene Rogan discusses Nasser's post-Suez influence, the "Arab Cold War," the Palestinian situation, and the critical decisions in May 1967, like closing the Straits of Tiran, that made war inevitable amidst internal Arab divisions and Israeli anxieties.
Summarized by Podsumo
The series aims to link 21st-century Middle East wars to their 20th-century origins, specifically the Arab-Israeli conflicts from 1967 to 1982.
Gamal Abdul Nasser emerged as a pan-Arab hero after the 1956 Suez Crisis, but learned a "dangerous lesson" that diplomatic victory could follow military defeat, leading to recklessness.
The "Arab Cold War" divided revolutionary republics (like Egypt and Syria) from conservative monarchies, and Egypt's costly intervention in the Yemen war (1962-1967) tied up one-third of its most experienced army.
Eugene Rogan argues that Arab states suffered from institutional failures in their revolutionary republics, where military culture stifled dissent and prevented leaders like Nasser from receiving truthful feedback, leading to ideological rather than realistic policies.
Key triggers for war in May 1967 included Soviet disinformation, Nasser's demand for UN withdrawal from Sinai, and his critical decision to close the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping, which Israel considered a casus belli.
"“Every 21st century war in the Middle East has a 20th century ancestor and this series on the Arab-Israeli wars is our attempt to trace those ancestors.” — William Durumpel"
"“Nasser came away with a dangerous lesson, which is that you can lose militarily and win diplomatically. And Nasser will get reckless. What worked in 1956 backfires terribly in 1967.” — Eugene Rogan"
"“The institutions of revolutionary republics were flawed because they did not provide voice to citizens... That culture was brought to politics. And that means no one ever speaks truth to power.” — Eugene Rogan"