The Road To Ramadan

297 Pages·1975·3.781 MB·English

by  Mohamed H. Heikal

THE
ROAD TO
RAMADAN

THE
ROAD TO
RAMADAN
Mohamed Heikal
Quadrangle/The New York Times Book Co.
First published 1975 by William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd., London
Copyright © 1975 by Times Newspapers Ltd. and Mohamed Heikal. All rights
reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any
form. For information, address: Quadrangle/The New York Times Book Co.,
10 East 53 Street, New York, New York 10022. Manufactured in the United
States of America. Published simultaneously in Canada by Fitzhenry & White-
side, Ltd., Toronto.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Haykal, Muhammad Hasanayn.
The road to Ramadan.
Includes index.
1. Egypt—Politics and government—1952-
2. Jewish-Arab relations—1967-1973. 3. Israel-Arab
War, 1973. I. Title
DT107.83.H375 320.9'56'04 75-8287
ISBN 0-8129-0567-9
Contents
Chapter I surprise 11
Chapter II nasser’s last stand 46
1. The Aftermath of Defeat 46
2. Arab Contacts 55
3. Enter the Palestinians 62
4. The Libyan Coup 68
5. Buying a Bomb 76
6. The Rabat Summit 77
7. Crisis in Moscow 83
8. The Rogers Initiative 90
9. The Second MoscowV isit 93
10. Rogers Accepted 95
11. The Cairo Conference 98
12. The Death of Nasser 103
13. The Funeral 105
Chapter III sadat rides the storm 114
1. First Diplomatic Contacts 114
2. The Downfall of the Ali Sabri Group 122
3. Palestinians and Sudanese 139
4. Dinner at the Soviet Embassy 143
5. The Randopolo Affair 147
6. The Last Meeting with Rogers 152
7. Into 1972 155
8. More Trouble with the Soviets 160
9. The Break 165
10. Libya 184
11. Relations with the USA 198
12. Pressures towards War 204
Chapter IV WAR 207
Chapter V A NUCLEAR ALERT 243
Chapter VI A NEW TYPE OF WAR 257
Chapter VII OIL 262
INDEX 279
(Illustrations follow page 128 )
Foreword
In this book I have tried to give an honest report of things as I
saw them during the October War of 1973 and in the six years
that led up to it. I was of course far from being in a position to
see everything. My analysis of events is therefore partial and
may be mistaken, but I have done my best to give a true and
candid picture. It has been my intention that this picture
should not be a purely Egyptian one. I have preferred to draw
it as far as I can from a wider Arab angle, and not to forget
that the Arab world is only a part of the whole complex inter­
national scene.
Apart from any temporary gains or losses there may have
been in the October War - the ‘Ramadan War’, - its outcome
cast a shadow ahead on the inevitable next stage of the con­
frontation. The Arabs had shown their potential but failed to
exploit it properly. The Israelis had been faced with their
fundamental weakness, but turned away from it in horror and
tried to pretend that it did not exist. The outside world con­
centrated its efforts on patching over the crisis rather than on
attempting to get to the root of it. The main architect of the truce
which succeeded the war, Henry Kissinger, saw it as essentially
an exercise in relations between the two super-powers. The
only conclusion to be drawn from all these missed opportunities
and mutual incomprehension is that another war is inevitable.
Acknowledgments
I should like to thank General Hassan el Bedri, official historian
to the Egyptian army; Dr Mustafa Khalil, former Deputy Prime
Minister responsible for industries and mineral resources in
Egypt; and Edward Hodgkin for help in preparation of my
material; and many other friends for the assistance which they
have given. I must also thank John Barry, whose knowledge of
this period was invaluable in the final checking of facts and
figures.
THE
ROAD TO
RAMADAN