The USSR wanted to create another trouble spot for the United States in addition to that already existing in Vietnam. The Soviet aim was to create a situation in which the US would become seriously involved economically, politically and possibly even militarily, and would suffer serious political reserves as a result of siding [with the Israelis] against the Arabs.
– Ahron Bregman, A History of Israel (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003), 106