ABSTRACT
The Six-Day War qualifies as a "minimal war only by its amazingly minimal duration: in other respects—the speed of Israel's offensive and its strategic importance—it qualifies as an extraordinary military and political achievement. It has indeed been described by an objective observer as "one of the most devastating offensives in the history of warfare". Despite its military success, however, it did not bring Israel the respectful peace it had hoped for on the part of the overwhelmingly numerous Arab countries that surrounded it. Before returning to the military side of this minimum/maximum war, however, let us recount some relevant elements in the lengthy historical background of Palestine. Without an independent Palestine, a Western assault on Iraq would cause a mounting anti-Western virulence to burst out, even from Islamic States with no particular liking for the Iraqi dictator.
