Tell me something good
Commencing on October 20th, the OPEC oil embargo proved to be one of the most significant events of the decade. It served as a catalyst to finally push the shaky 1973 economy into a state of frenzy. The 1973 stock market crash, as it's called today, owns much of it's scale to the Embargo.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was a unprecedented tool of power for the Arab World. The first true mechanism that allowed the oil producing countries to resist pressure from the great western oil companies. It's embargo of the nations in support of Israel during the Yon Kippur War was the first true test the organization faced. And it proved a powerfull tool for the Arab countries.
Adamant support of the United States government for the Israeli government, spearheaded by the Kennedy administration and hawks in the Senate and in the House, would put the country on the top of the list of OPEC enbargoed nations.
Oil prices in the United States would skyrocket to levels not seem in generations. A natural part of life for so many americans, oil prices fluctuation's had been, for the last 50 years or so, quite small. Oil was just...there, this wasn't suposed to change. The sudden shock would stun american society in a unprecedented way.
Over the last few decades the american oil economy had become much more dependent on imported oil from key nations, while it's own production decreased significantly. Meanwhile demand for oil, thanks in no small part to the American car culture of the 1950's and 1960's was never higher. To own a car was seem as a symbol of adulthood for many, and families were for the first time getting two cars.
In short, the national dependency on this single import was very high, and control on the output of the product was virtually on the hands of a single organization. It doesn't take a genius to realize that when the importer moves against the interests of said organizations, a crisis will ensue.
Oil companies would soon have to start rationing it's oil output in gas stops around the country. The product was not only much more expensive, it was in short supply after all.
A "Gas Line" in Brooklyn. Something that was becoming more and more common around the U.S.
Gas Lines were everywhere, as people fought to reach the low supply. Many gas stations would simply go out of business. It was truly a shock, for the market, for the country, and for the public.
On October 23rd, the Israeli army would succeed in advancing to the western bank of the Suez Canal, surrounding a considerable number of Egyptian forces within the city of Suez. Furthermore, Golan heights, a border region between Israel and Syria was firmly on Israeli hands. It was from this position of strength that the Israeli military decided to attempt to seize the encircled Suez.
The battle of Suez would be the blodiest part of the war, raging for two days and resulting in the combined deaths of over three thousand Egyptian and Israeli forces. The attack would fail, with the city remaining on Egyptian control, although a weak one.
By October 26th Israel was less then one hundred miles away from Cairo, and twenty miles away from Damascus. Yet it seemed that the war would turn into a bloody stalemate. It was at this moment that the United States pushed Israel to seek a Ceasefire.
The Soviet Union under Breznhev would continue to offer it's support for the Arab nations, while not rejecting the option of the ceasefire if said countries accepted it.
Temporary peace would come the following day, as both sides agreed to lay down arms and seek a diplomatic solution. If said solution would come, however, only time could tell.
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Destroyed Israeli Tank during the attack on the city of Suez, October 25th, 1973
The ceasefire would by no means put a end to the Embargo, however, and it would continue for many months.
The End and the Beginning of a Era, Marcus P. Edginton
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