SUPPLIES of concrete and timber suddenly began vanishing all over Egypt. Some roads were closed to civilian traffic, as trucks bearing shrouded hardware rumbled to guarded sites in nighttime runs. Huge transport planes thundered ceaselessly into Cairo's airport, disgorging men and equipment. These mysterious comings and goings a few months ago signaled a major expansion of the Soviet Union's presence in Egypt. Some diplomats compare it to the beginnings of the U.S. buildup in South Viet Nam in the mid-1960s.
Most observers in Cairo date the buildup from Gamal Abdel Nasser's secret three-day...