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ne, although with victory in war came problems associated with Arab Palestinian residents of Israel and the territories in the Sinai, Gaza Strip, West Bank, and Golan Heights either occupied or annexed by

Israel. The Israeli victory, coupled with the tradition of American

support, both enhanced the prestige of Israel and placed it at almost permanent odds with the Arab nations that bordered it. The American dilemma for United StatesIsraeli relations was to develop myriad aspects over the next 20 years, but it had at its core the American wish to be on reasonable if not affable terms with both Arabs and Israelis, and to maintain an American position in the region on Israel's behalf as against the Soviet position in the region on behalf of various Arab states. One instance of the ColdWar aspects of the dilemma occurred after the 1967 war, when in 1970 the Soviets introduced missiles and military personnel into Egypt, at a time that the United States was debating whether to continue arms shipments to Israel or to pursue that vague arena known as Middle East Peace Talks. Egypt's position was that Israel should withdraw from the Sinai and Gaza Strip, won from Egypt in the SixDay War, and stop making reconnaissance raids into the region. To do this, it urged the United States to "order" Israel to withdraw from the Strip and relinquish arms shipments, even as it accepted a growing Soviet military presence in Egypt, near the Israeli border.

What had started as a protective move [by Egypt] against deep

penetration raids by Israel was on the verge of transforming the

entire strategic equation. . . . Israel was approaching the point

of desperation, which might tempt it into preemptive action

before the balance shifted irrevocably. Nasser might become

reckless through euphoria. the Soviets were becoming

indispensable to the radical Arabs. The United States seemed

inc...