The two links below (1, 2) report on a large Egyptian military exercise that was held in the Sinai Peninsula this week. The exercise called “Badr-2010” was barely reported in the media at all. According to the first link, the Egyptian military exercise “featured an armed crossing of the Suez Canal followed by a deep thrust into ‘enemy territory.'” Both links below naturally assume that Egypt’s war game was targeting the Israelis. I’m passing news of this military exercise on to readers of this blog because I think this Egyptian war game may have been practicing for a surprise maneuver that may shock the world if it takes place in a future Mideast war.
Obviously, the Egyptian forces heading eastward across the Sinai Peninsula were headed for Israeli territory, so past history argues that the war game was a simulated attack against Israel. However, just because the war game simulated a “deep thrust” toward “enemy territory” to the east does not mean Israel was the intended target or objective of this latest exercise. Let’s review recent developments showing the Israelis and Egyptians have been experiencing much convergence in their national security interests and have even been acting as allies. Their national intelligence chiefs have met regularly with each other and both nations are sharing intelligence information with their Jordanian and Saudi intelligence counterparts (as a previous blog documented). An Egyptian newspaper recently praised the head of the Israeli Mossad for delaying the Iranian nuclear weapons program (as a previous blog documented). Prime Minister Netanyahu and Egyptian President Mubarak have been meeting to adopt joint positions in Mideast talks involving President Obama. Finally, Egypt has openly permitted Israeli warships, including Israeli Dolphin subs presumably equipped with nuclear cruise missiles, to use Egypt’s Suez Canal to deploy them into the Indian Ocean toward Iran (as previous blogs have mentioned).
The above actions all indicate that Egypt and Israel are drawing much closer together as they both fear the growing threat from Iran. This brings up the possibility that the Egyptian war game sending tanks and armored forces eastward toward Israel to practice a “deep thrust” toward “enemy territory” had another purpose. If a large Mideast war breaks out in which Shiite Iran is seeking to overwhelm the Sunni Arab nations of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, etc., those nations will badly need quick reinforcements from the military forces of their fellow Sunni nation, Egypt. In order for Egyptian forces to reinforce Jordanian and Saudi forces in such a Mideast war with Iran, Egyptian forces would need to cross Israeli territory to reach Jordan and Saudi Arabia. It would be entirely in the Israeli national interest to allow Egyptian armored forces to cross Israel’s Negev region as they headed eastward into Jordan and Saudi Arabia to help their fellow Mideast Sunni governments repel invading Shiite Iranian forces in a Mideast war. Perhaps the Egyptian war game was to practice just such a maneuver.
The Egyptian forces in the war game headed toward the Israeli Negev region, but they could have been (A) practicing either an Egyptian invasion of Israel or (B) practicing to rapidly transit Israel’s southern region (with Israeli permission) in order for Egyptian forces to join any ground war between Shiite Iranian forces and Sunni Arab forces. I think the latter option was the real intended purpose of the Egyptian war game. The “deep thrust” to the east that they were practicing may have been intended to practice a deep thrust into Jordan and Saudi Arabia in case those nations need help in a war with Iran. It is very hard to envisage the Israelis being uninvolved in any Mideast war involving Iran. If the Israelis are also fighting in a war against the Iranians, this raises the possibility that Egyptian and Israeli armored columns may both head eastward as allies against the Iranians. Wouldn’t that shock the world? Given the fact that the list of the Gog-Magog alliance of nations in Ezekiel 38:2-6 (which includes Iran) does not include either the Ishmaelites (the Sunni Arab nations) or Egypt, such a scenario is possible. I’m not specifically predicting that this will occur, but I am pointing out such a scenario is possible given the language in Ezekiel 38’s prophecy.
http://2012forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&p=272078
http://fm1019.blogspot.com/2010/05/egypts-military-ends-maneuvers-in-sinai.html
