Egypt's advanced plans for war against Israel were outlined in an extensive article in the weekend edition of HaTzofeh. HaTzofeh editor Gonen Ginat told Arutz-7 today that "Egypt's war plans have been discussed and boasted about openly by top members of the country's security establishment.

For example, during Egypt's largest-ever military exercise in the fall of 1996, its Defense Minister Muhammad Dantawi told reporters straight out that the training was in preparation for an upcoming war with Israel."

The article details Egypt's increased levels of arms, both in quality and quantity, in air, rocket, naval, and ground power. "The Egyptian military has become increasingly advanced," Ginat said, "thanks in part to more sophisticated U.S. tanks which the Americans have not only provided, but have trained the Egyptians to build independently. These tanks surpass those of Israel on a number of counts."

When questioned as to why his paper, and not the political establishment, is disseminating this information, Ginat noted, "The issue of war with Egypt is taboo. The attitude of the average Israeli is not to disturb one of the only peace treaties we have with a neighboring Arab state.

As such, politicians are afraid to raise the issue with a public that is unwilling to confront it. This hesitance to upset people's perceptions reminds me of the story of my former editor, Ya'akov Erez, who was a military correspondent in 1973.

He had written a report prior to the Yom Kippur War, warning of Egypt's imminent plans to attack Israel. The censor blocked the story. Erez has the report hanging over his desk to this day as a reminder that we can't afford to bury our heads in the sand."