The Yom Kippur War is an international conflict that emerged in October 1973. The crisis revolved around the actions of three actors: Israel, Egypt, and Syria. The initial attack by Egypt and Syria was prompted by Israel’s territorial gains during the Six-Day War in 1967 where it captured parts of the Sinai Peninsula (Egypt’s territory) and half of the Golan Heights (Syria’s territory). This regional advancement lead to hostile sentiments directed towards Israel throughout the region. These feelings came to fruition when Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack against Israel on the holiest of days for those of Jewish faith.

Concepts that relate to this topic are as follows (In no particular order)

1.   “Defense vs. Deterrence”     

i.    Egypt/Syria have two choices.         

i. Attack Israel and receive their prize of regaining their territory              

ii.             Refraining from attacking.    

ii.   Israel has two choices.          

i. Defend against attack             

ii.             Give in

2.   Strategic Moves          

i.    Egypt and Syria employed strategic tactics that enhanced the credibility of their commitment to regaining their lost territory. It’s evident in Sadat’s rhetoric to reclaim what was rightfully Egypt’s, and the training exercises that took place adjacent of the Suez Canal.              

3.   Generic Bargaining    

i.    The Yom Kippur War is an example of tactics employed by both sides. Egypt/Syria tried to get Israel to “give in,” i.e. relinquish territories. However, the result was Israel “standing firm,” resulting in mutual punishment for both sides, i.e. war.

4.   Signals vs. Noise         

i.    Signals existed with Egypt providing bits of information in advance of its intentions of conducting an upcoming attack. Information was displayed in the form of training sessions along the Suez Canal. However, Israeli intelligence failed to recognize these actions as direct threats.           

5.   Appeasement Theory of War            

i.    Egypt, understood Israel was a Middle Eastern military power, however, they perceived Israel to be unwilling to engage in a war with them because of their lack of retaliation to Egyptian forces training along it’s boarders. Due to this, Egypt and Syria may have seen Israel as not a credible threat, however when military conflict arose, Israel retaliated, resulting in the outbreak of war and the destruction of Egyptian and Syrian forces.              

6.   Security Dilemma      

i.    Israel is a relatively small country. Any military advancement or preparation can lead to security concerns arising among its neighbors. It’s for this reason that Israel wants to ensure that if it’s involved in any sort of military conflict, it’s happens outside of it’s territory. The initial stages of the Yom Kippur War saw military battle ensue inside of Israel, however, when its military forces were unleashed, Israel was successfully able to push Egypt and Syria out of its territory.