William Quandt on the October 1973 Middle East War

Nixon Now Podcast

Interview Date: October 7, 2019 October 6 marked the 47th anniversary of the beginning of the October 1973 War between Israel and Arab States Egypt and Syria. After over four years of a war of attrition between Israel and its Arab neighbors, and diplomatic efforts moving at an unhurried pace, President Nixon woke up on the morning of October 6, 1973 to a cable from Ken Keating, America’s Ambassador to Israel, reporting that Israel’s Prime Minister Golda Meir told him Egypt and Syria had launched a two-pronged surprise attack as Israel stood unprepared to defend itself on Yom Kippur (or Day of Atonement) the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. On this edition of the Nixon Now podcast, we explore this topic with William Quandt. He served as the Middle East hand on the National Security Councils during the Nixon and Carter administrations, and was actively involved in the negotiations that led to the Camp David Accords in 1978. Photo: President Nixon, National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger, and Israel Prime Minister Golda Meir at the White House in on May 1, 1973 (National Archives)