Today, 53 years ago, on July 18, 1972, Egypt expelled Soviet advisers. On July 18, 1972, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat issued a notice ordering "Soviet military advisers and experts" to leave Egypt immediately. Until Sadat's speech, there were 5,000 Soviet advisers in Egypt, 15,000 fighters and pilots. Though it was not yet known whether the order included all personnel, it was suspected that this was the case. The speech also detailed all the military facilities established in Egypt after the "6 Day War" in June 1967 would be withdrawn from the Egyptian Arab Republic. Observers believed this move would contribute to the improvement of Egypt's relations with the West.