On today's date back in 1973, oil producing Arab nations, acting in unison, declared a total oil embargo against the United States in response to the US operation "Nickel Grass" a week earlier, which was a secret airlift mission to provide the Israeli military with weapons and supplies during the then-ongoing Arab-Israeli war known as Yom Kippur War or حرب أكتوبر.
This oil embargo went on for half a year, causing the price of oil to quadruple, which in turn triggered a significant disruption to US economy, global fears of recession, and a division within NATO that threatened to weaken US position globally.
Ultimately this mess pressured the United States to apply its weight to negotiate a deal involving Israeli withdrawal from areas in Sinai and Golan. Only then did the Arabs lift the embargo.
This episode compelled the United States to reexamine its game plan, and triggered a long term strategy masterminded by Henry Kissinger, that would guarantee such a situation never happened again. The United States needed to make sure Arab oil states could never come together again and act in unison against US interests.
Thirty nine years have passed exactly today, and so far Henry's plan has worked flawlessly. How far are we today from the spirit of the seventies! It is mind boggling to me just how impossible it is for an 1973-style embargo to take place in today's world.
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