The Meir government's rejection of Sadat's peace…

The Meir government's rejection of Sadat's peace overtures has convinced the Egyptian president that to alter the status quo and gain needed legitimacy at home he must initiate a war with limited objectives.

There are no illusions that Israel can be vanquished.

Rather, the war will be launched with the diplomatic aim of convincing a chastened, if still undefeated, Israel to negotiate on terms more favorable to the Arabs.

Preparation for the war involves a loosening of ties with the Soviet Union; to that end, in July 1972 Sadat, having husbanded the arms provided by the U.S.S.R. since 1967, announces the abrupt expulsion of some twenty thousand Soviet military advisers who (it will be claimed later) oppose the Egyptian determination to fight.

Meanwhile, Sadat's surprising action serves to bolster Israel's complacency concerning an Arab attack.

Sadat simultaneously opens a secret channel to Washington, hinting that Egypt and the United States together can eliminate Soviet involvement in the Middle East.

Only the Americans, he reasons, might influence the Israelis to return the occupied regions.