October War of Liberation
Forty years have so far passed since the leader of November 16th 1970 Correction Movement, Hafez Al-Assad, took the decision along with the Egyptian President, Anwar al-Sadat, to launch October 6th, 1970 liberation war. Had the late Egyptian President not stopped this war, the destiny of all the occupied Arab territories would have been different. It was indeed the heroism of the Syrian Army and the subsequent war of attrition which allowed Syria to regain and liberate some of its occupied territories.
History will speak for long about the strategic role, tactics, and victories of October war, as the first victory for Arabs against the so-called ”invincible army; October war was for the Syrians an epic of steadfastness and heroism, especially when all of the enemy troops on the front with Egypt were moved to the Syrian front. I was 10 years old then, and I do remember the living memories inside me of that day. What a difference of feelings inside me between the day of June 1967 defeat and October 1973. In 1967 I was forced to run away almost unclothed with the rest of my family and neighbors. It was indeed a day of hunger, suffering and humiliation!
My personal memories in October 1973 were different: joy, pride, and victory. We used to watch the sky over Damascus, where the Israeli warplanes were seen burning and downed and in big numbers, before the enemy resorted to chain its pilots with fetters to their seats. I still remember how we used to run in every direction as to catch an Israeli pilot following the downing of his warplane. The radio and news about the remarkable victories of our hero soldiers did change our life.
The late President Hafez Al-Assad addresses the Nation that the enemy would never be allowed to take us by surprise; thus we fought the battle of honor and pride, in defense of our precious land, for our glorious history, and of the heritage of our forefathers. We fight the battle, equipped with faith in God and in ourselves; and with the solid and compelling determination that victory will be on our side, and asserted that Israel was stubborn and hit by vanity, and arrogance filled the heads of its officials. They continued their crime and aggression. Their hearts were filled with black hatred against our people and against humanity. They were fret with thirst for bloodshed. Their footsteps disregarded the principles and ideals of humanitarian principles and sublime morals and the international laws and resolutions.
”Such persons are, the same, like their predecessors, among the advocates of war, do not confine themselves to a limit, nor get deterred , unless they are deterred by people who believe in their own right, and fight for their freedom and own existence. While we do our duty to defend our land and the honor of our nation, we are ready to make every sacrifice and accept all challenges in order to win the right and win principles, so that just peace would prevail,” underlined President Hafez Al-Assad.
”You are the sons of a nation, which has been known throughout history for stances of manhood and pride, of heroism and redemption. You are the sons of the nation that had carried the message of light and faith into all the corners of the earth, and the entire world was a witness to its highest traits and noblest morals… We are the rightful owners and the owners of a just cause, and God grant victory to the one who is rightful defending his right. You are defending today the honor of the Arab nation, preserving its dignity and existence, and rendering sacrifices , so that the future generations are to live satisfied and secure,” added the Late President.
In fact, as the Late President Hafez Al-Assad reiterated we are not amateurs of killing and destruction, but we are repulsing murder and destruction from ourselves. We are not the aggressors and never were aggressors; but we were and are still defending ourselves, repulsing the aggression. We do not want death to anyone, but we repulse death off our people. We love freedom and we want it for ourselves and for others. We did struggle and fight so that our people would enjoy their freedom. We have been advocates of peace work for peace for the sake of our people and for all the peoples of the world. And we do fight terrorism today in order to live in peace and all the people of the world live in peace. It is not only Syrians’ battle as much as it is the battle of every human being worldwide.
Dr. Mohammad Abdo Al-Ibrahim