Ok, Teribus, let's have a look at them one at a time.


Do you then dispute ANY of the following facts???

May 17: Cairo Radio's Voice of the Arabs: "All Egypt is now prepared to plunge into total war which will put an end to Israel."

What "fact" is contained in this quote for me to dispute or not dispute?


May 18: Voice of the Arabs announces: "As of today, there no longer exists an international emergency force to protect Israel. We shall exercise patience no more. We shall not complain any more to the UN about Israel. The sole method we shall apply against Israel is a total war which will result in the extermination of Zionist existence."

Again, what "fact" is contained in this quote for me to dispute or not dispute?


May 18: Nasser announces blockade of Straits of Tiran in the Red Sea, severing Israel's southern maritime link to the outside world. Israel considers the closure an act of war. (US President Lyndon Johnson later says: "If a single act of folly was more responsible for this explosion than any other it was the arbitrary and dangerous announced decision that the Straits of Tiran would be closed.")

What "fact" is beardedbruce stating here? Is it the fact that Nasser made an announcement, or that he blockaded the Straits of Tiran? Or is it that Johnson made that statement? Or that the statement that Johnson made is accurate?

May 20: Syria's defence minister (now president) Hafez el-Assad says: "Our forces are now ready not only to repulse the aggression but to initiate the act of liberation itself, and to explode the Zionist presence in the Arab homeland. The Syrian army, with its finger on the trigger, is united ..."

Is the "fact" that el-Assad said what he did, or that that he had the military might to back it up?

May 27: Nasser: "Our basic objection will be the destruction of Israel. The Arab people want to fight."

May 30: Nasser : "The armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon are poised on the borders of Israel."

May 30: Jordan's King Hussein signs a five-year mutual defence pact with Egypt and the two set up a joint command, making clear its stance in any future conflict.

May 31: Egyptian newspaper Al Akhbar reports: "Under terms of the military agreement signed with Jordan, Jordanian artillery, co-ordinated with the forces of Egypt and Syria, is in a position to cut Israel in two ..."

May 31: Iraqi President Rahman Aref announces: "This is our opportunity to wipe out the ignominy which has been with us since 1948. Our goal is clear--to wipe Israel off the map."

June 4: Iraq joins Nasser's military alliance against Israel.

June 5: Six Day War begins: Israeli Airforce attacks airfields in Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Iraq.

Again, what is the "fact" in each of these that can either be disputed or not disputed?


Now here is the fly in the ointment CarolC, because it wasn't just Egypt was it? Egypt's rhetoric was extremely belligerent because Nasser had put together a coalition of Arab Armies and had got them drawn up and fully mobilised on Israel's borders. A combined enemy force of some 465,000 troops, over 2,880 tanks and 810 aircraft, positioned as it was on your borders poses an undeniable threat CarolC, irrespective of how confident you might be in the capability of your own troops.

Except that Israel had already announced its decision to invade Syria and overthrow its government (documentation in the other thread). Egypt's mobilizing of forces on its border happened after Israel made this announcement. Egypt and Syria were responding to this announcement from Israel. They were in the defensive posture in response to Israel's announcement that it was going to attack Syria and overthrow its government.