The starting premise of Arab nationalism had been fatally undermined, 15 years into the 1952 revolution. When Nasser, and by extension Egypt, lost, there was relatively little left to say. Like many of their fellow citizens, they weren’t particularly political, but the fact of Nasser, and his larger-than-life persona, dominated Egyptians’ sense of who they were and who they were trying to become. Everyone, or it seemed like everyone, loved Nasser-or, if you were victim of his repression, grudgingly admired him. With the partial exception of the Iraqi army, Arab states are almost uniformly weak and militarily feckless today, but 50 years ago there was Gamal Abdul Nasser, the president of Egypt, and he had carefully nurtured the illusion of Arab military prowess. It is difficult to overstate the shock of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria’s almost instantaneous defeat, which is why it is often called the “Six-Day War.” Wars almost never run this quickly.
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