The Suez Crisis, 1956
- In 1955, Egypt aligned themselves with the Soviet Union. Shortly after, in 1956, the Egyptian Leader Gamal Nasser nationalizes the Suez Canal.
- Israel, seeing this as a threat (among the others issued by Nasser), attacks first under their First Strike Policy. France and Britain support Israel after this move in accordance with a secret deal had between the three countries.
- The United States, angered at their exclusion from this deal threaten to stop supplies to Israel if they do not agree to back out.
- Israelis take control of The Sinai desert and much of the Suez Canal, and are stopped by the Americans for fear that other Arab nations would join the battle to aid the overwhelmed Egyptians.
- The battle is finally resolved and the tensions diffused by a UN peacekeeping force (courtesy of Canadian Lester B. Pearson)
- This event is significant for its signalling the shift of world-power/influence from France and Britain to the Cold War powers of the United States and the Soviet Union.
- Israel, seeing this as a threat (among the others issued by Nasser), attacks first under their First Strike Policy. France and Britain support Israel after this move in accordance with a secret deal had between the three countries.
- The United States, angered at their exclusion from this deal threaten to stop supplies to Israel if they do not agree to back out.
- Israelis take control of The Sinai desert and much of the Suez Canal, and are stopped by the Americans for fear that other Arab nations would join the battle to aid the overwhelmed Egyptians.
- The battle is finally resolved and the tensions diffused by a UN peacekeeping force (courtesy of Canadian Lester B. Pearson)
- This event is significant for its signalling the shift of world-power/influence from France and Britain to the Cold War powers of the United States and the Soviet Union.
The Suez Crisis (HLS)
“The fact is, that to every challenge given by the threat of death and destruction, there has always been the response from free men: It shall not be. By these responses man has not only saved himself, but has ensured his future.
May it be so again this time, as we face the awful and the glorious possibilities of the nuclear age.” - Lester B. Pearson (during a lecture at Princeton University) |
Subjunctive Question: What if the support for the Israeli - Arab conflict had all along been France and Britain, and the Soviet Union (respectively)? Could Israel have still managed to win their wars against Egypt and the other states?
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The motivating factor for International intervention in the Suez Crisis was the vitality it had for trade and oil export.