egyptian military buildup

B

benaakatz

Active member
just some food for thought.

ever since the peace treaty with israel, egypt has been rapidly building and modernizing their military. on paper they look equal to the idf.

they are trying to aquire 24 more modern F-16s. any neighbor other than israel poses no strategic threat to egypt. their military is far superior.

so why the huge buildup? do you think it's just normal modernization and the desire to have a strong military?...or do you think they want to have a force capable of taking on israel, if they decide to ever give war another shot?
 
Given their strategic location and the important nature of the Suez Canal, it's no surprise they'd want their military strong and up to date. Personally I'm not sure why they're not taking the fight to the Horn of Africa because it's the piracy there that's hurting their Suez canal business.
 
maybe they will...
or maybe they might not want to be advertising how far they have come militarily just yet
 
I don't think that they want to attack Isreal in the near future. Egypt is one of the major non-NATO ally of the USA and has accepted the existence of israel. If they would start a new war against israel it would have very bad consequenzes for egypt with a potenzial intervention of the united states and so on. I think it's a normal modernisation in such a unstable region like the middle east.
 
The U.S. gives Egypt roughly $2 billion dollars a year in military aid. The only nation to get a larger share is Israel at $3 Billion.

Obviously, if the U.S. is going to significantly fund them, they are going to have the best military that money can buy.

All militaries are generally in some phase of modernization. I doubt that Egypt or Israel have any plans to get in another war with each other.



http://projects.publicintegrity.org/militaryaid/World.aspx
 
i want to give my point of view about this topic ,i just want 2 say that there is no way that egypt is going 2 attack israel simply because it will hurt the economy so bad that it will be 2 hard recover because most of our income comes from the tourism and the suez canal and the only way 4 a war to break out is when we get hit 1st coz i cann't remember as far as i concern that our army got out of the country to find in a foreign land unless the ruler was not egyptian ,anyway there is also that camp david treaty between us and the proof that we respect it too much is that
1:we buy cubic metre of gas around 16$ and import it 2 israel with the price of 2.5$
2:the army size mustn't exceed 500,000 while our police force already have more than 4mil. (just imagine how will the no. jump in a real war)
3:fighting israel means also fighting USA which will guarantee the winning like when they were about to be defeated in 1973 and U.S send them that air train full of tanks and shells .
 
cool..what are your guys thoughts on the bright star exercises between the egyptians and the usa? what (perceived threats) do they train for?
 
i know this is a semi conspiracy type comment but possibly the US is building up both armies so that a war can errupt.... no wait that is stupid... im going to go with the defense of the suez canal in conjunction with defense of egypt, and to help the US since we basically paid for their advanced military.
 
I think Egypt building up its army for reasons:
1.The nature of the strategic position.
2.Suez canal.
3.Fight terrorism.
4.The Egyptian high Dam.
5.The Egyptian System.
6.The Nile.
7.Iran and Israel.
USA fund Egypt and Israel with military aid yearly to make sure of kind of military balance in M.E.
Note:In modern history Egypt didnt start a war out the home land.Israel striked Egypt in 1956(England,France and Israel) and 1967.While Egypt start one in 1973 for the land and peace.
But,What 24 F-16s can do in war?
The MiG 21 is still in service while Israel have F-15 and looking for the F-35.
 
1956:

Egypt had maintained its state of belligerency with Israel after the armistice
agreement was signed. The first manifestation of this was the
closing of the Suez Canal to Israeli shipping. On August 9, 1949, the
UN Mixed Armistice Commission upheld Israel’s complaint that Egypt
was illegally blocking the canal. UN negotiator Ralph Bunche declared:
“There should be free movement for legitimate shipping and no vestiges
of the wartime blockade should be allowed to remain, as they are
inconsistent with both the letter and the spirit of the armistice agreements.”
On September 1, 1951, the Security Council ordered Egypt to open
the Canal to Israeli shipping. Egypt refused to comply.
The Egyptian Foreign Minister, Muhammad Salah al- Din, said early
in 1954 that “The Arab people will not be embarrassed to declare: We
shall not be satisfied except by the final obliteration of Israel from the
map of the Middle East.”
In 1955, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser began to import
arms from the Soviet Bloc to build his arsenal for the confrontation with
Israel. In the short- term, however, he employed a new tactic to prosecute
Egypt’s war with Israel. He announced it on August 31, 1955:
Egypt has decided to dispatch her heroes, the disciples of Pharaoh
and the sons of Islam and they will cleanse the land of
Palestine. . . . There will be no peace on Israel’s border because
we demand vengeance, and vengeance is Israel’s death.
These “heroes” were Arab terrorists, or fedayeen, trained and equipped
by Egyptian intelligence to engage in hostile action on the border,
and to infiltrate Israel to commit acts of sabotage and murder. The
fedayeen operated mainly from bases in Jordan, so that Jordan would
bear the brunt of Israel’s retaliation, which inevitably followed. The
terrorist attacks violated the armistice agreement provision that prohibited
the initiation of hostilities by paramilitary forces; nevertheless,
it was Israel that was condemned by the UN Security Council for its
counterattacks.
The escalation continued with the Egyptian blockade of Israel’s shipping
lane in the Straits of Tiran, and Nasser’s nationalization of the Suez
Canal in July 1956. On October 14, Nasser made clear his intent:
I am not solely fighting against Israel itself. My task is to deliver
the Arab world from destruction through Israel’s intrigue,
which has its roots abroad. Our hatred is very strong. There is
no sense in talking about peace with Israel. There is not even
the smallest place for negotiations.
Less than two weeks later, on October 25, Egypt signed a tripartite
agreement with Syria and Jordan placing Nasser in command of all
three armies.
The blockade of the Suez Canal and Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli shipping,
combined with the increased fedayeen attacks and the bellicosity
of Arab statements, prompted Israel, with the backing of Britain and
France, to attack Egypt on October 29, 1956. The Israeli attack on Egypt
was successful, with Israeli forces capturing the Gaza Strip, much of
the Sinai and Sharm al- Sheikh. A total of 231 Israeli soldiers died in the
fighting.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Abba Eban explained the provocations
to the Security Council on October 30:
During the six years during which this belligerency has operated
in violation of the Armistice Agreement there have occurred
1,843 cases of armed robbery and theft, 1,339 cases of
armed clashes with Egyptian armed forces, 435 cases of incursion
from Egyptian controlled territory, 172 cases of sabotage
perpetrated by Egyptian military units and fedayeen in Israel. As
a result of these actions of Egyptian hostility within Israel, 364
Israelis were wounded and 101 killed. In 1956 alone, as a result
of this aspect of Egyptian aggression, 28 Israelis were killed and
127 wounded.5
One reason these raids were so intolerable for Israel was that the
country had chosen to create a relatively small standing army and to
rely primarily on reserves in the event of war. This meant that Israel
had a small force to fi ght in an emergency, that threats provoking the
mobilization of reserves could virtually paralyze the country, and that
an enemy’s initial thrust would have to be withstood long enough to
complete the mobilization.

Not exactly unprovoked...
 
1967:

A combination of bellicose Arab rhetoric, threatening behavior and, ultimately,
an act of war left Israel no choice but preemptive action. To do
this successfully, Israel needed the element of surprise. Had it waited for
an Arab invasion, Israel would have been at a potentially catastrophic
disadvantage.
While Nasser continued to make speeches threatening war, Arab terrorist
attacks grew more frequent. In 1965, 35 raids were conducted
against Israel. In 1966, the number increased to 41. In just the fi rst four
months of 1967, 37 attacks were launched.
Meanwhile, Syria’s attacks on Israeli kibbutzim from the Golan
Heights provoked a retaliatory strike on April 7, 1967, during which
Israeli planes shot down six Syrian MiGs. Shortly thereafter, the Soviet
Union—which had been providing military and economic aid to both
Syria and Egypt—gave Damascus information alleging a massive Israeli
military buildup in preparation for an attack. Despite Israeli denials,
Syria decided to invoke its defense treaty with Egypt.
On May 15, Israel’s Independence Day, Egyptian troops began moving
into the Sinai and massing near the Israeli border. By May 18, Syrian
troops were prepared for battle along the Golan Heights.
Nasser ordered the UN Emergency Force, stationed in the Sinai since
1956, to withdraw on May 16. Without bringing the matter to the attention
of the General Assembly, as his predecessor had promised, Secretary-
General U Thant complied with the demand. After the withdrawal
of the UNEF, the Voice of the Arabs proclaimed (May 18, 1967):
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 total war, which will
result in the extermination of Zionist existence.
An enthusiastic echo was heard on May 20 from Syrian Defense Minister
Hafez Assad:
Our forces are now entirely 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 fi nger on the trigger, is united. . . . I, as a military man, believe
that the time has come to enter into a battle of annihilation.
On May 22, Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran to all Israeli shipping
and all ships bound for Eilat. This blockade cut off Israel’s only supply
route with Asia and stopped the fl ow of oil from its main supplier, Iran.
President Johnson declared the blockade illegal and tried, unsuccessfully,
to organize an international fl otilla to test it.
Nasser was fully aware of the pressure he was exerting to force Israel’s
hand. The day after the blockade was set up, he said defiantly: “The
Jews threaten to make war. I reply: Welcome! We are ready for war.”
Nasser challenged Israel to fight almost daily. “Our basic objective
will be the destruction of Israel. The Arab people want to fight,” he said
on May 27.The following day, he added: “We will not accept any . . . coexistence with Israel . . . Today the issue is not the establishment of
peace between the Arab states and Israel. . . . The war with Israel is in
effect since 1948.”
King Hussein of Jordan signed a defense pact with Egypt on May 30.
Nasser then announced:
The armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon are poised on
the borders of Israel . . . to face the challenge, while standing behind
us are the armies of Iraq, Algeria, Kuwait, Sudan and the
whole Arab nation. This act will astound the world. Today they
will know that the Arabs are arranged for battle, the critical
hour has arrived. We have reached the stage of serious action
and not declarations.
President Abdur Rahman Aref of Iraq joined in the war of words:
“The existence of Israel is an error which must be rectified. 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.” On June 4, Iraq
joined the military alliance with Egypt, Jordan and Syria.
The Arab rhetoric was matched by the mobilization of Arab forces.
Approximately 250,000 troops (nearly half in Sinai), more than 2,000
tanks and 700 aircraft ringed Israel.
By this time, Israeli forces had been on alert for three weeks. The
country could not remain fully mobilized indefinitely, nor could it allow
its sea lane through the Gulf of Aqaba to be interdicted. Israel’s best option
was to strike fi rst. On June 5, the order was given to attack Egypt.
 
Moreover:

In 1956, the United States gave Israel assurances that it recognized the
Jewish State’s right of access to the Straits of Tiran. In 1957, at the UN,
17 maritime powers declared that Israel had a right to transit the Strait.
Moreover, the blockade violated the Convention on the Territorial Sea
and Contiguous Zone, which was adopted by the UN Conference on the
Law of the Sea on April 27, 1958.14
The closure of the Strait of Tiran was the casus belli in 1967. Israel’s
attack was a reaction to this Egyptian fi rst strike. President Johnson
acknowledged as much after the war (June 19, 1967):
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 Strait of Tiran would be closed. The right of
innocent maritime passage must be preserved for all nations
 
Whatever,but you cant deny that you are the one who start the war.You came from Europe and USSR by tanks and war machine.
Killing the original people who lived here thousands years (Muslims & Christians).
Israel not the most innocent hand in the world.By simple words you built your home over my home.
Now the land owner become with no right and the invaders has all rights.
If you can deny this i will be sure that Israel can prove that they built the pyramids and dug the Nile and all the world will believe you.
 
look buddy i dont wanna go in a whole debate with you, the jews had a presence in israel continuously for 100s of years up to this day...thus in 1948 the area...where there was NO country yet, was to be split up into a jewish state and a arab state. the arabs, who already got 22 states in the process of self determination said no to one jewish state, denying the jew's right to self determination. thus they went to war and thats why you have no state today.

by the sound of your tone, you still deny the jews the right of self determination in their homeland, and yes i understand you live there too, which is why there should be 2 states, but you refuse to accept that.

we are not some foreign colonialists taking some random land...we are a people who haved lived there for thousands of years..were forcibly expelled from the land, yet maintained a presence there forever to this day. and we have always tried to return to our land.

until you get this fact, that its our land as well, then there is nothing else to say. im sorry. once again we accept the 2 state solution. we did in 48, we do today, its your turn to reciprocate.
 
benaakatz said:
look buddy i dont wanna go in a whole debate with you, the jews had a presence in israel continuously for 100s of years up to this day...thus in 1948 the area...where there was NO country yet, was to be split up into a jewish state and a arab state. the arabs, who already got 22 states in the process of self determination said no to one jewish state, denying the jew's right to self determination. thus they went to war and thats why you have no state today.

by the sound of your tone, you still deny the jews the right of self determination in their homeland, and yes i understand you live there too, which is why there should be 2 states, but you refuse to accept that.

we are not some foreign colonialists taking some random land...we are a people who haved lived there for thousands of years..were forcibly expelled from the land, yet maintained a presence there forever to this day. and we have always tried to return to our land.

until you get this fact, that its our land as well, then there is nothing else to say. im sorry. once again we accept the 2 state solution. we did in 48, we do today, its your turn to reciprocate.
Click to expand...

Do you seriously believe this nonsense?
The fact is that you have never done anything more than pay lip service to the two state idea even as far back as 1948, as much you want the right to pick and choose which "history" applies to you the problem you face is that the rest of the world gets to read it all.

But here is a question for you and it even takes into account your theory of maintaining a presence there:
What other peoples/religions have also maintained a presence there for the last lets say 2000-3000 years.
Because I think you will find that despite your attempts to claim legitimacy through biblical fairy tales the reality is that you are neither the original inhabitants nor the only inhabitants of the region.

Anyway back to the Egyptian story, my guess is that they are modernising their military for many reasons:
1) It is a strategic location.
2) It is a volatile region.
3) They probably don't trust their neighbours.
4) The want to.
 
It might benefit everyone if Eygpt took a look to their south. They could be instrumental in cleaning out a lot of bad people.
 
MontyB said:
Do you seriously believe this nonsense?
The fact is that you have never done anything more than pay lip service to the two state idea even as far back as 1948, as much you want the right to pick and choose which "history" applies to you the problem you face is that the rest of the world gets to read it all.

But here is a question for you and it even takes into account your theory of maintaining a presence there:
What other peoples/religions have also maintained a presence there for the last lets say 2000-3000 years.
Because I think you will find that despite your attempts to claim legitimacy through biblical fairy tales the reality is that you are neither the original inhabitants nor the only inhabitants of the region.
Click to expand...

The 'nonsense ' is all yours; but then you are just not too interested in established historical fact and tend to deflect it by describing it as 'biblical fairy stories' when it suits you.

Why not try answering your own question first and let us see what you have. While you are at it, make it 3000-4000 years. A question for youself set by yourself. Perfect.
 
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Real answer

Egypt excersises and military build up is a routine thing that every country does and must do . Every country must have advanced weapons and technology and keep its weapons and military power and exercises up to date to have a hard army since many countries have sensetive and strategic positions and locations .If u are asking about that build up and see that this is abnormal thing so u are wrong . If a country dont have hard army so it will be conquered by other military forces from hard countries .
 
to the members who believe that israel has a historical right in palisitine.well,how come the russian europians...etc who are the majority in israel have the right to kill and steal in palistaine?
that is nonsense and its over to lie on the world anymore.

anyway,i think Israel is the only potential enemy to Egypt.recently, Egypt has done an enormous drills by transporting 50 thousand soldier to sena peninsula in a short period of time.
i am as a jordanian and most jordanians doesnt accept israel existence until now.so plz dont act as if israel becomes a country here for granted.

i think arab people will never accept israel as a neighbor because it is an illigemate country.most Arabs are just waiting for an appropriate time and conditions regionally and internationally take palistaine back.
 
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