Egypt has always maintained a fairly modest army, even dating back to the ancient times. In 1952, it was the free officers that staged a military coup on the government and ever since they have had an important role in Egypt. Since decolonization, Egypt has taken part in 3 major wars, the first of which being the Arab-Israeli border conflict. Tension along this border and the Gaza has fostered decades of dispute that has been continuous since 1948. One of the more famous events during this conflict was the Six Day War in June of 1967 in which it was obvious to Israel the Arab nations were preparing for attack. Instead of waiting for them to come, Israel decided to launch their own campaign on June 5th, taking out most of the opposing fleets. This was hugely embarrassing for the Arab world as they had been defeated in matter of six days. Under the reign of President Anwar Sadat, movements towards peace with Israel had begun in attempts to resolve the situation, and during this time Egypt began to turn their heads to the West, rejecting their Soviet allies. This led to the Egypt-Libya war of 1977 in which Libya showed their discontent with Egypt. After brief fighting, a cease –fire was negotiated, but tensions continued. This was seen as a victory for Egypt. They are also known for playing their part in the Persian Gulf War of 1990; however his was seen as a mostly American fought battle.
Over the past few years the Egyptian military has been fighting a domestic battle. Terrorism has become an increasing problem largely due to a rebel group called the Muslim Brotherhood whose aim is to topple the pro-western government. They have now succeeded in doing so, and once again power has been handed over to the armed forces who have been given the task to piece together a new government.
