Israel’s Nightmare in Syria, Then and Now

Israel’s airstrike on Aug. 19 reduced the runway at Abu al-Duhur Military Airport in Idlib, Syria, to rubble. No one was killed, but the attack sent a clear message about the limits Israel wants to place on Syria’s military ambitions.

Israel has struck deep inside Syrian territory to prevent the construction of a modern military along its northern border. It has also sought to stop the new Syrian state from developing military capabilities and building firm security alliances. That raises a broader question: what exactly does Israel’s “preventive” war in Syria look like, and how far back does this approach go?

The article points to June 1967, when 15 cargo ships suddenly found the Suez Canal blocked on both sides by war. With nowhere else to go, their captains waited in the canal for eight years. During that time, the crews organized sporting competitions and issued special postage stamps.

Sand accumulated on the ships’ hulls until the steel turned yellow. The vessels began to look as though they had never been designed to move. When the canal reopened in 1975, only two German ships managed to leave under their own power. The others appeared to have forgotten how to sail.

Egypt lost revenue from shipping traffic for eight years. More importantly, the war damaged a modernization project whose foundations had been built over many years. The episode is presented as an earlier example of how war can obstruct a state’s effort to build its military and modern institutions.