ABSTRACT
The isolation of Egypt in the Arab world in the wake of Anwar El- Sadat's visit to Jerusalem in November 1977, and more particularly after the Camp David Agreements of September 1978, strengthened Libya's regime. Not only was Egypt in no position to directly attack Libya; the peace agreement with Israel alienated the rest of the Arab states and drew their leaders closer to the Libyan position. Mu'ammar al Qadhdhafi's September 1, 1978, speech on the ninth anniversary of the Libyan coup was very much in harmony with what he had been saying for the previous five years. Sudan was resolving differences with Egypt and cooperating with it to support anti-Libyan factions in Chad. The communique also acknowledged Libya's fear of an Egyptian-Sudanese bloc but affirmed Sudan's peaceful intentions. The communique stated that "the joint defense agreement between Egypt and Sudan was a defensive one and not directed against the Jamahiriya.".
