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As the United States cultivates a new generation of warrior-diplomats, it is vital that we continue to explore regional perspectives of strategic interest. The events of the Arab Spring have ushered in a period of great change that will affect political as well as military relationships for some time. The 201 1 Egyptian Revolution and the assumption of power by "The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces" have led to many questions as to the thinking of the two dozen officers constituting this ruling body. Part of understanding this generation of senior officers is to comprehend not only the psychological impact of the devastating Six-Day War, but the influence of events in Yemen prior to 1967 that shaped the thinking of operational and strategic leadership. In this series, CDR Aboul-Enein introduces readers to the views of GEN Mohamed Fawzi on the impact of the 1962 Yemen War on Egyptian military thinking. For five years, 60,000 Egyptian combat forces found themselves entrenched in a quagmire in Yemen. For those making policy in Egypt, such as President Nasser and Field Marshal Amer, the war in Yemen sharpened Egyptian combat effectiveness. Fawzi instead argued the opposite was the case, and that leaders such as Nasser and Amer deluded themselves into a false sense of security. In Yemen, Egyptian units were engaged in fighting a guerilla war, not a conventional war against a qualitatively formidable Israeli war machine. Fawzi made a compelling argument that the Yemen War had eroded Egyptian combat effectiveness on the eve of 1967 war with Israel. CDR Aboul-Enein has done much to educate Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen both in classrooms and in his published writings. I applaud INFANTRY for giving CDR Aboul-Enein's work a forum; the magazine is helping him in his quest to educate us all using direct Arabic source materials of military significance. This is a vital part in cultivating the intellectual capital of our most strategic asset - our active, Reserve, and civilian personnel.
- Foreword by LTG Walter E. Gaskin, U.S. Marine Corps
Deputy Chairman, Military Committee, NATO
In Part I, we examined the strategic dynamics between Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel-Nasser, his War Minister Field Marshal Abdel-Hakim Amer, and the vortex of pan-Arabism coupled with the greater competition between the...