Dr Anwar Gargash notes that military strength must serve political objectives and pave the way to durable peace, echoing Egypt’s 53rd anniversary commemorations.
DUBAI, Oct 6 : Dr Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Adviser to the UAE President, said on Tuesday that late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat’s strategic doctrine during the October 1973 War demonstrates how military power, when anchored to clear political objectives, must ultimately serve as a bridge to peace.
Marking the 53rd anniversary of the conflict, Dr Gargash reflected on Sadat’s dual approach of battlefield deterrence and diplomatic engagement, describing it as an enduring axiom often missing from contemporary statecraft.
Writing on his official social media channel, Dr Gargash emphasized that Sadat approached warfare not as an open-ended enterprise, but as an extension of politics designed to restore balance and establish an equitable negotiating ground.
“On the 53rd anniversary of the October War, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, may he rest in peace, affirmed that war is an extension of politics, and that force is a negotiating tool when the objective is a peace that preserves rights and interests,” Dr Gargash stated. He added that while Sadat recognized this strategic balance decades ago, it remains conspicuously absent from the calculus of many modern political leaders.
The remarks coincided with national commemorations in Cairo led by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, who laid ceremonial wreaths at the Armed Forces Martyrs’ Memorial and paid respects at the tombs of Anwar Sadat and Gamal Abdel Nasser.
In his anniversary address to the nation, President Al Sisi echoed similar strategic themes, noting that the breakthrough achieved during the 1973 offensive proved that prolonged conflict must eventually transition into constructive diplomacy to guarantee regional stability.
Sadat launched the surprise offensive across the Suez Canal on October 6, 1973, altering the diplomatic deadlock following the 1967 Six-Day War. The shift in strategic dynamics paved the way for negotiations that resulted in the 1978 Camp David Accords and the historic 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty—the first formal peace agreement signed between Israel and an Arab nation.
Dr Gargash’s reflection comes amid prolonged instability across the Middle East, where regional powers continue to emphasize de-escalation, deterrence, and political solutions over perpetual conflict.
