Big Red Car here. Nice day in the ATX. Lousy day in the Middle East. How does it become a little better?
There is a sense at the highest levels of our government that the Middle East is like a self sealing tire — the hole is going to fix itself if we just keep rolling along.
That is nuts. Sorry. Today is a day for straight talk.
Nothing new in the Middle East
The Middle East has been filled to overflowing with war and despots for a millennium. Its default condition is war, despotism, and, now, terrorism.
In the past, this has necessitated solving things at the tip of a bayonet or a tank, in the case of Israel.
I mention the issue with Israel because on the heels of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Israel and Egypt enjoyed forty years of relative peace. [Until the Obama administration engineered the rise of the Muslim Brotherhood.]
To review, on 6 October 1973 Egypt and Syria launched a coordinated two front attack against Israel ostensibly to recapture territory it had lost in the 1967 war with Israel.
The Egyptians, in a world class feat of combat engineering, forced a crossing of the Suez Canal and attacked into the Sinai Peninsula.
The Syrians, enjoying an enormous advantage in comparative tank strength, attacked into the Golan Heights.
The Syrians came within a handful of Israeli tanks of destroying the Israeli armored forces. In a incredible feat of heroism coupled with superb armor tactics, the Israelis hung on until they could marshal their reserves. It was a very close thing.
Golda Meir and Moshe Dayan agreed to stand up the Israeli nuclear missile forces and were prepared to vaporize Damascus.
It was a very, very, very close thing.
It was a war and there was a clear winner, the Israelis. The US and the Russians prevailed upon each other and the Israelis to keep the Israelis from attacking deep into Egypt (they had successfully crossed the Suez themselves and little stood between them and Cairo) and into Syria where Damascus lay as a prize to be taken.
Why is this important, Big Red Car?
Because nothing is going to get better in the Middle East until somebody knocks the shit out of ISIS. Simple truth.
ISIS is not a significant military force and it will not be an hors douvre for an American division or two.
We talked about that here.
ISIS is not a substantial military force
But, hey, what the Hell do I really know anyway? I’m just a Big Red Car. Merry Everything to y’all!
