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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1966-12-15, Page 21Thee B1 . ue Thumb Suez, The - Inside Story Port 1 by, G. Mac LEOD "ROSS 40 The Siez Canal affair of 1956 minces one of the most fasciae ating stories of intrigue in in tbrnational politics to be found. Professor Hugh Thomas ofl3ead- ing University, was commission- ed by the °Sunday Times' tomake an independent inquiry and these notes are laased on his articles, which will be published in book form in 1967, COI. Nasser of Egypt, had long before decided to seize theCanal and only sought an excuse, The U.S.A., Britain and the World Bank had agreed to back his pet scheme for a new high dam at Aswan. On July 19,1956, Dulles abruptly withdrews,his offer and the British followed suit. This was all the excuse that Nasser needed and he seized the. Canal on July 26, declaring that the SAFETY IN SONG , Even in the cold climate aite of Greenland, hot tempers flare among indignant Eskimos. Sav- are blood feuds, often involving several (generations of a'family, take place. Uncussessfiul at- tempts to ban this practice have been made by substituting pub - .lie satirical song duels between enemies. - Reading is adventure, reading is fun! -Geta good book and read it. T ►e Ooderiehignal-Star, Thursday, pee. ` Nasser Sought Only An Excuse To -Seize Canal dues would be used to finance the dans. The T British, under prime Min. ister Eden, had only withdrawn their troops from Egypt in June of the previous year. They owned 45 per cent of the Canal Company's shares. Once the route to India, the Canal was now their life -line to oil -75 per cent of it. Now one of the few remaining jewels in the Imperials Crown had been seized by .an up- start and British prestige vis vis the Arab world been badly snubbed,+ France, under Mollet, was in grievous rouble, trying to hang on to Algeria; .one of her last colonies, where the rebels were being sustained by moral and material support from Egypt. France had built the Canal and also owned shares 'in the Company. Isreal, under Ben Gurion. Hemmed in by Arab states, his ships had been denied .passage through 'the Canal; the Egyptians had established commando bases on the Gaza border and blockad- ed the Gulf of Akaba. Ben Gur- ion was looking for an excuse to start a preventive war on Egypt before an united Arab command could liquidate Israel. America, under - Eisenhower, and his alter ego' in foreign affairs, Dulles: This was election year in the states and Eisen- hower, obsessed with his own re. election, wished to appear as "the Prince of Peace." J•. . rr . .r'. ..• .r•' rr. • r- 4 Here then ' are the' five chief actors in''this engrossing story– each toryeach with his own particular as. pirations, prestige, limitations and power. Perhaps some men- tion should be made oftjleSoviet, which backed Nasser with Czech arms, but which, in the result, 'contented itself with thunderings. off stage and preoccupation with the Polish and Hungarian uprise Ings. She was never expected, by any of the prime ,actors, to inter- fere. There was 'of course the U.N. organization, under Harncnarsk. jold, which sought peace by nego- tiation, but which was being gradually ignored by the major powers, save when a device was needed for gaining time for con- templation, The United Nations organization had become merely a form of 'coolant to many of its members. Funds Seized The immediate situation was further acerbated when Nasser seized the two million dollars in the company's bank at Port Said, Eden, who had won his spurs as a negotiator, had been Prime Minister for only 15 months when this telling snub was received. A good staff officer, his transi- tion to that of commander in chief was not eased by the state of his health, for he was, already living on his nerves. People who' had been dubious as to his fitness for high command , now said: "Eden has to prove he has areal moustache". The Press was call. ing for a "strong line", while h believing Eden Rig t, bel evi g that E en was responsible for the with. drawal of troops from Egypt,,now feared a second "scuttle". These then, were some of the stiinul• ants applied to the sick Eden. Only the Foreign Office. civil servants favoured negotiation, fearing a departure from the "special relationship" - existing with the U.N. and the U.S.A. It was therefore according to 'form' that when sterling fell, Eden wrote to Eisenhower "that we must be ready in the last resort to use force to being Nasser to his senses". A military planwas ordered to be prepared. Guy Mollet, the French Prime Minister, no longer wanted to be on good terms with the Arabs. France had had 'colonial wars for 10 years now -first Indo-China, now Algeria and Socialist Mollet feared that if his coalition govern. ment 'failed, it would be the end of the Fourth Republic, In con. sequence, Mollet looked upon Nasser's intransigence as a heaven sent justification for mak- ing war on him. Both his par. liament and public opinion were behind him in this. Military Plan , The problem facing the British Chiefs of Staff was complicated - by the absence of a base, close to Egypt, which could take large, .,ships. Furthermore, the Forces were geared either for an all out, nuclear war, or for counter. insurgency. There wasuoprovisit ion for a limited war as posed by the S uez crisis. Morale apart, Egypt's material was impressive: 100 MiGs; 100 medium tanks; 30 large Stalin tanks, and 30 Ilyushin bombers. The Czechs had provided modern 'semi-automatic weapons. as against the World War 11 rifles of the British. ' The' Parachute Brigade could -have been sent to seize the old British base, which held equip- ment for 80,000 troops, but the British Chiefs ofStaff were haunt- ed by the lesson of Arnhem, nor could they have been supported by sea landings. As a result the Chiefs of Staff threatened to resign if airborne troops were sent in immediately and Eden did not overrule them. Because of the Algerian war, the French had even fewer resources than the British, but they too began to prepare, American Reaction It was election year, with Eisenhower running as the "Prince of Peace". Dulles was in Peru, but it had been,his re. fusal to finance the Aswan Dam which had inspired Nasser's action. In any event, only 15 per cent of U.S, oil traversed the Canal. Eisenhower - 'sent Robert Murphy over to London to dis- courage impulsive armed action and the latter formed the opinion that the allies would not use force immediately. r• • .---vaRfzwzgisg--ogmfskmwz-zg After 4$,.-»4ur's, of contact with the French; continued pressure from the Press; memories of the middle East Humiliations Glubb's sacking; Selwyn Lloyd's snubbing in Bahrein; all these began to be attributed to Nasser. Eden began to look upon the nationalisation asanother Rhine. land Occupation. '. By July 30th it was clear the U.S; would not support force. Eisenhower thought the British had no legal case; nor did he believe the Egyptians were un. able to operate the Canal. He wrote to Eden of the "unwlsdom of even contemplating force". Then, on Aug. 1, Dulles arrived in London, instructed -to prevent military intervention. Error• eously, he thought protracted negotiations would dissipate war- like thoughts. "A way must be found to make Nasser disgorge" taietDatlatIMPAIDatettatpeitititYANet ENJOY '4IE FINEST FOOD IN TOWN Chinese Food Our Specialty ALSO TAKE-OUT ORDERS OPEN DAILY 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Open Friday and Saturday Until 12 Midnight "¶ The Esquire > w Restaurant "5249941" m 4 said Dulles. This remark carne as comfort to Eden, but M0rphy felt "it should be taken with a warehouse full of salt". Thus Eden and Dulles settled down to. mutual incomprehension, z - The French were still anxious to use. immediate force, but the Bxftish :Chiefs of Staff ruled that without U.S. help, an adequate Anglo.French force could not be mouunted under six weeks. Paul Reynaud, the Prime Minister of - France for the three "1nonths of 1940 during which Frapee .sur. rendered to Germanyh, and an In oright, decisiveforce in . is wn bad the gall to remark on thesq men who have been talking for six days, not acting", On•Aug, 2, a fullDriiishCabinet - decided that while a negotiated settlement should be sought, force would bemused if negotia.. tions failed within measurable time. With the . exception of Monckton, the Minister of Defence, none was critical. ' DRIVE OUT -- AND SAVE •, CHRISTMAS SPECIALS • 5 -tube radios, $18.95; Philips transistor table radios, reg. $36.95, now only $25.00; Eureka and G.E. vacuums and floor polishers at terrific savings. Choose from our .large selection of recordplayers, all at- special savings. Our most popular Channel Master transistor model radio now being offered at 15% off regular price. These are just a few of the dollar stretching values Waiting for you. 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