Abu Muqawama: U.S. Must Shore Up Fragile Israel-Egypt Peace

Abu Muqawama: U.S. Must Shore Up Fragile Israel-Egypt Peace

Between 1948 and 1973, Egypt and Israel fought four major wars and a collection of smaller skirmishes. Some of these conflicts -- the Suez Canal crisis, the Six-Day War of 1967 and the October or Yom Kippur War of 1973 -- had geostrategic implications for the United States. Any of them conceivably could have escalated into a confrontation between the two Cold War-era superpowers. And throughout that period, a strong, aggressive Egypt represented the gravest threat to the security of the state of Israel, which had become a vital U.S. interest in the Middle East.

For all these reasons, and many more, the Camp David peace accords that in 1978 brought an end to the wars between Israel and Egypt are an unambiguous triumph of American diplomacy. Although the accords first and foremost required political courage from the Israelis and Egyptians, the United States can take credit for shepherding the agreement and then enabling its implementation through the years. Today, though, Americans do not fully appreciate the absence of war between Israeli and Egypt or the effort required on the part of U.S. policymakers to protect what has often been described as a “cold peace.”

Last week, for example, Tom Friedman, arguably the foremost American pundit on global affairs, suggested in the pages of the New York Times that the millions of dollars in scholarships the United States provides annually to Lebanese college students is a more valuable national security investment than the $1.3 billion in annual military aid the United States provides to the Egyptian military.

Keep reading for free!

Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:

Or, Subscribe now to get full access.

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:

A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:

  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
  • The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
  • Completely ad-free reading.

And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.