ZFBoxcar
Please source your claim that Egypt shot at any Israeli ships.
As for the Israeli statements I've posted, I've already cited the sources for them. If I missed any, let me know and I'd be happy to provide you the source.
shek
Begin claimed the war "a war of self-defence", but he also acknowledged that Israel "had a choice", that they did not attack "for lack of an alternative". The Egyptian presence in the Sinai did "not prove that Nasser was really about to attack us. We must be honest with ourselves. We decided to attack him."
That is a clear and unambiguous acknowledgment that Israel attacked Egypt first. Of course, that's hardly controversial. Nobody's claiming that Egypt attacked first (well, except for ZFBoxcar). Moreover, it's a clear acknowledgment that there was no imminent threat. A bit further on: "Who knows if there would have been an attack against us?"
There you have it.
As for Rabin, he stated very clearly: "I do not think Nasser wanted war." You're argument is that he referred to troop movements into the Sinai on May 14, but the Israeli attack was on June 5, several weeks later, and therefore using the quote "is misleading".
There's nothing misleading about it. He was not quoted May 14, 1967, he was quoted the following year, in 1968, well after June 5 1967. Obviously, he made his statement well aware of any changes in the situation between May 14 and June 5. The fact is that any changes between those dates didn't change his assessment: "I do not think Nasser wanted war."
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So, the bottomline behind the quote is that it applies to May 14, and not the situation on June 5, and therefore, attempting to use it is misleading.
To fill in the space between May 14 and June 5, here's a brief timeline (all are cited from Oren's "Six Days of War":
Aerial photos on May 19 showed the buildup to be 80K men, 550 tanks, and 1000 guns (Oren 76).
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Same paragraph, two sentences prior:
"It's unclear whether Egypt's intention was from the start aimed at a military confrontation or at a limited gain of prestige," Yariv beifed his senior officers on May 19.
You're claiming this citation from Oren demonstrates how the situation had changed from May 14. But this briefing was on May 19, and was regarding the very same troop movements, which began on the 14, as Rabin noted. This is the same troop movement Rabin was referring to, not some later one.
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By May 20, a full six divisions were in the Sinai (Oren 78).
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This is interesting. The actual text:
A full six divisions had by May 20 taken up positions in Sinai, "from which they can deliver massive retaliation against Israeli aggression," reported ['Abd al-Hakim] 'Amer.
In other words, the declared purpose of the forces was to deter Israeli aggression, not for the initation of aggression itself.
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On May 23, Rabin had a nervous breakdown where he was temporarily suceeded in command and placed on quarters to rest (Oren 91).
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Same page:
"I sunk into a profound crisis brought on by my guilt...that I had led the country into war under the most difficult circumstances," he later told an Israeli journalist. "Everything was on my shoulders, rightly or wrongly. I had eaten almost nothing for almost nine days, hadn't slept, was smoking non-stop, and was physically exhausted."
Next paragraph:
Rabin's collapse was kept secret from the Israeli public, and would only be disclosed many years later... "I endangered the state...my mistakes," Rabin stammered. "The biggest and most brutal war yet."
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Did you deliberately misquote Rabin, or did you not know that his quote referred to the situation on May 14 and not June 5?
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Stan187,
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LoL, he probably just figured that no one on this board owned a copy of Oren's book.
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LOL! Shek must have though I was bluffing when I said I'd read Oren's book already.