ABSTRACT

Patterns of War Initiation in the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Note on the Military Dimension

David Rodman

Six Arab-Israeli wars have been fought over the past 50 years. Each side has initiated three of these wars. The Arabs began those of 1948-49, 1969-70 and 1973, while the Israelis began those of 1956, 1967 and 1982. This essay argues that each side's decisions to initiate these wars rested in part on its perceptions about its chosen military strategy. Specifically, the Arabs initiated the 1948-49, 1969-70 and 1973 wars in part because they perceived that their chosen strategy of attrition was favoured at these times. Likewise, the Israelis initiated the 1956, 1967 and 1982 wars in part because they perceived that their chosen strategy of manoeuvre was favoured at these times. This relationship between war initiation and military strategy, however, has not been consciously explored in the literature about the Arab-Israeli wars. Hence this essay is a first attempt to fill a lacuna in that literature.