28. “We Will Be Two Ismails”
A. The “Blue-White” scare
While Primakov’s talks with the Israelis were in progress (on 25 March), Sadat him-
self took over as prime minister from the Soviets’ reputed point man Sidqi. Ahmed
Ismail remained defense minister in a new cabinet dedicated “to prepare the country
for a total confrontation with Israel.”^1 “Political sources” specified even before the
announcement that this meant preparations for war.^2 At the new cabinet’s first ses-
sion, Sadat also appointed himself military governor-general, with emergency powers
in case of national crisis.^3 His move could be, and was, still interpreted as aimed at
quelling domestic dissent, with “continuity in foreign affairs.”^4 But the Soviets took
part in the accelerated military activity that followed.
In March, the manpower of Baranov’s technical-adviser outfit was abruptly cut by
two-thirds, but not for repatriation. As his subordinate “Smirnov” relates,
all those whose military specialty was suited for combat were sent into the field, to handle
the induction of Eg yptian air defense men who were returning from their training course
in the USSR. These soldiers already left a completely different impression from those we
met a year or year and a half before. They were more self-confident, nimbler, and enjoyed
demonstrating the skills and knowhow that they had learned.They spoke Russian, if heavily accented, and showed photos of Russian girlfriends.
“Our women apparently left an indelible impression on these soldiers of Allah, and
thus contributed more than a little to strengthening Soviet–Arab friendship.” In trial
launches of SAMs, Eg yptian crews now acquired the targets on their own and fol-
lowed “successfully” through the entire procedure.^5
Meanwhile, Nixon’s “Middle East month” was getting nowhere. By mid-April,
“once again Mrs Meir, that singleminded lady of unbending conviction, appears to
have triumphed—she came, received new promises of Phantom jets, and convinced
Nixon nothing need be done” on the diplomatic front. “In the White House, a mood
of frustration is rampant. Surveyors of the scene tend to throw up their hands with
plague-on-both-your-houses disdain ... Neither antagonist seems willing to fit into