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in July 1956
Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser
announced the nationalization of the
Suez Canal Company Egyptians would take
charge of this vital strategic waterway
connecting Europe to Asia with immediate
effect Britain and France relied on the
canal route for their vital supplies of
Middle East oil which fueled their
economies in their eyes NASA was a
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threat a dictator intent on uniting the
Arab world against them destroying their
influence in the Middle East and North
Africa and using control of the canal as
a weapon against them
secretly Britain and France agreed to
force regime change on Egypt a joint
military intervention to depose NASA and
reassert their standing as global powers
but it was not Britain or France that
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struck first against NASA it was Israel
on the 29th of October Israeli
paratroopers landed in the Egyptian
Sinai seizing the strategic Mitla pass
and paving the way for an invasion by
ground forces
at the UN Israel insisted it was acting
in self-defense against raids by
Palestinian fighters known as Fedayeen
operating from bases in Gaza and Sinai
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to wipe out the bases in the Sinai
wilderness from which murder and death
and destruction are launched but there
were no Fedayeen bases in Sinai Britain
and France aiming to be acting on behalf
of the international community issued an
ultimatum to both sides
stop fighting within 12 hours and
withdraw all forces 10 miles from the
Suez Canal or they would intervene to
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enforce compliance Egypt was effectively
being told to abandon the Sinai and the
canal Israel accepted the terms NASA
refused so on the 31st of October
British and French aircraft taking off
from carriers in the Mediterranean and
bases in Cyprus and Malta began bombing
Egyptian airfields air defenses and
infrastructure
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but not all was as it seemed Israeli
Prime Minister David ben-gurion had been
considering an attack on Egypt for many
months he was encouraged by Moshe Dayan
the hawkish commander of Israel's armed
forces NASA like all leaders of Arab
States did not view the new Jewish state
as legitimate now receiving modern
weapons from Czechoslovakia he was seen
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as a potential threat to Israel's
survival
they were also determined to end Egypt's
blockade of the Straits of Tiran which
prevented Israeli access to the Red Sea
and limited opportunities for trade
France wanted to ally with the Israelis
to get rid of NASA but British prime
minister Sir Anthony Eden was anxious
about being seen as the aggressor so the
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French came up with an idea
at seven near Paris representatives of
Britain France and Israel met in secret
to plan a war Israel would invade Egypt
about in Britain and France posing as
peacemakers to issue an ultimatum they
knew only Israel would accept then
claiming to be acting to safeguard the
canal they would invade Egypt and
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overthrow NASA though they had no real
plan for what to do once he was gone it
would take years for the full details of
this conspiracy to emerge
on the 5th of November after a week of
bombing and with Israeli troops winning
the battle in Sinai
British and French paratroopers were
dropped onto targets around portside and
fought Fouad at the mouth of the Suez
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Canal
once on the ground they quickly seized
Egyptian airfields and key
infrastructure
the next morning under cover of
airstrikes in naval bombardment British
and French landings began
fierce street fighting raged throughout
the day but the Egyptians were massively
outgunned and it proved a one-sided
contest around 600 Egyptian soldiers and
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police were killed British and French
deaths total just 26 Egyptian civilians
suffered most up to 1000 lost their
lives with many more left homeless by
air raids and shelling by the end of the
day the British and French were in
control
but they couldn't prevent the Egyptians
sabotaging the Suez Canal itself they
sank ships in its narrow channel locking
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the canal and putting it out of action
for several months
it wasn't hard to see that the British
French and Israelis were working
together and at the United Nations world
opinion quickly turned against them for
once the US and Soviet Union were united
in condemnation a typically animated
Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev even
threatened to fire rockets at Paris and
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London
President Eisenhower thought the
invasion had no moral or legal
justification but he was furious with
his British ally for going behind his
back as it is the manifest right of any
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of these nations to take such decisions
and actions it is likewise our right if
our judgement so dicta for we do not
accept the use of force as allies or a
proper instrument for the settlement of
international disputes
Eisenhower wanted international
attention focused on Hungary where
Soviet troops were at that moment
brutally crushing a popular uprising
instead Britain and Frances reckless
intervention was likely to push Arab
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states closer to the Soviet Union
in the UN Security Council Britain and
France used their veto to block
resolutions that criticized Israel's
attack on Egypt or their own
intervention
but with both world superpowers
condemning their attack they now faced a
vote in the General Assembly and the
threat of UN sanctions Britain's economy
had been fragile before the crisis began
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now market fears caused the British
currency to crash threatening economic
disaster
only a massive loan from the
International Monetary Fund could save
person but Eisenhower blocked any IMF
aid until Britain agreed to a un-backed
ceasefire in Egypt
Eden facing growing opposition abroad at
home and from within his own government
had few options just two days after
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British troops landed in Egypt they
announced a ceasefire the French
abandoned by their ally had no choice
but to follow suit
within days the UN's first major
peacekeeping operation got underway as
Danish UN troops arrived in Egypt to
take over from the British and French
as they packed up and reembarked on
their landing ships to return home it
was officially job well done but in
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truth Suez had been a humiliating fiasco
the political leadership had been
reckless the military objectives
confused and as soon as international
pressure had mounted up the British had
had no option but to abort the entire
mission
that winter under intense American
pressure Israeli forces also withdrew
from Sinai
the suez crisis forced Britain and
France to accept that they were now
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second ranked powers no longer could
they act as they wished on the world
stage
without first considering the view of
the United States the lesson taken by
the British was never again to
jeopardize their so-called special
relationship with America
for France the lesson was that Britain
and America were unreliable allies and
their interests were better served by
closer ties with in Europe Israel
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achieved some objectives including the
opening of the Straits of Tiran to
Israeli shipping but with NASA still in
power future conflict with Egypt and its
other Arab neighbors was almost certain
the Sinai war proved to be a precursor
to the far more decisive six-day war
fought a decade later
British Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden
career and health were ruined he
resigned but not before lying to
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Parliament about his knowledge of the
secret deal with Israel
president NASA fated as the hero of the
Arab world for having stood up to
European imperialists had in reality
been saved by US and UN intervention but
his modernizing reforms championing of
the Arab cause and opposition to foreign
intervention mean his memory is still
revered by Arabs across the Middle East
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the impact of the suez crisis on America
was perhaps the most far-reaching the
collapse of British and French prestige
amongst Arab nations meant the US would
now take the lead in countering Soviet
expansion in the Middle East and
securing the West's oil supplies
the Suez Crisis would accelerate u.s.
involvement in this volatile region
the consequences would stretch well into
the 21st century
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