The 1973 Oil Embargo: The last concerted Arab action
How US policy changed since, what has been learned by all sides and how the legacy of the embargo affected concerted Arab action, unity and perceived strength A study by Hani M Bathish The economic and political repercussions and arguable successes or failure of the 1973 oil embargo and what is known as the October War or Yom Kippur War or Six Day War can be boiled down to their essential long lasting impacts nearly 50 years on: · Arab disunity and collapse of concerted action; · a change of stance towards Israel by Arab states from a clearly declared enmity to active courtship of the Zionist State, seeking friendship and alliance; · a Western economic system obsessed with protecting itself against future oil shocks, whether manmade or natural; · the development of alternative fuels and energy sources (a positive outcome) as well as the cultivation of native sources of crude oil from Texas to the North Sea. It was, arguably, the greatest humiliation for a