David Ignatius' columns consistantly contain some of the most misguided foreign policy analysis that I have seen in any of the the MSM opinion pages. Today's is no different; it provides us with quite a howler:
...the importance of the 1973 war is that it opened the door to peace. The Arabs, humiliated by earlier wars with Israel, could now claim a measure of dignity because of Anwar Sadat's bold attack across the canal. The Israelis learned that their Arab adversaries wouldn't run from battle as they had in the 1967 war. That gave them a stake in making peace, too.
Ignatius projects some very pecuilar emotions to the actors involved here. If I recall history, the Arabs launched an invasion during Israel's holiest holiday, catching them unawares, and made some early territorial gains. Said gains were quickly eliminated once Israel started to fight, and the Egyptian armies were once again forced to retreat fairly quickly, giving up their gains and losing chunks of their own land to an advancing Israeli army.
This is a "measure of dignity"? Launching a sneak attack on a smaller nation while they are at prayer, then subsequently getting your butt kicked? If I sucker-punch a girl, then am forced to run home with her heel firmly up my ass, have I maintained a "measure of dignity"? Similarly, because it took two weeks as opposed to six days to defeat an Arab army, Ignatius seems to feel the IDF was intimidated and forced to sue for peace. Errrr....again, not the way the history books seem to recall it....
A sneak attack followed by a military defeat, and this guy uses it bestow honor upon the Arab armies? Methinks Ignatius is too wrapped up in this whole "honor "thing; perhaps he's been watching too much Trek and is confusing Arabs with Klingons? Ah, but what would any worthy Klingon do to a sap like Ignatius were he to make suggestions about finding glory in suprise attacks?
Having been alive, although rather young, in 1973, I can still recall that this war was in no way viewed at the time as any kind of a victory for the Arabs. Only Ignatius, applying his salve of liberal low-expectations racism on the Arabs, could perceive it as such. Or is this just another example of Ignatius spouting terrorist propoganda? He closes the article by praising Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah, and urges that the West cave in to terror:
The evidence grows that you can't achieve real security without negotiating with your adversaries, and you can't succeed in such negotiations without offering reasonable concessions.
Actually, all the evidence points otherwise - after all, Israel conceded South Lebanon years ago and Gaza more recently; their "adversaries" responded by moving their weaponry to the border...hey, it's easier to target Jewish civilians that way! I guess allowing your enemies to advance to your doorstep is "real security" to Ignatius...
Pardon the rest of us if we choose to believe otherwise...
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