History

     The Suez Crisis is about the war between the Egyptians and the British, French, and the Israeli. The French and British were fighting for control of the Suez Canal, a major canal that linked the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. This incident began when the President of Egypt, Gamal Abdel Nasser, tried to stay neutral during the Cold War. He was being funded from both sides, so that he might decide to join the Communists or the Western countries. The U.S was troubled by the recognition of communism in China by Egypt, and the fact that they were receiving military equipment from Czechoslovakia. ^[1]These matters caused the US and UK to stop funding Egypt. The project that Nasser was working on was the Aswan High Dam, which was supposed to bring in millions of dollars and provide 2.1 million kilowatts of energy, which is around 15% of Egypt's electricity use.^[2]Nasser responded to this by nationalizing the Suez Canal. The Suez Canal made profits of 100 million, and Egypt only received about 2 million. Britain and France owned  that canal, and they wanted it back. 60% of all oil went through that canal, so Britain and France thought Egypt might use it to blackmail the European countries.^[3]The Israelis, who were an ally of France and Britain, had been losing cargo to the Egyptians whenever it went through the Suez Canal. The three countries signed a secret agreement that would involve the Israelis attacking the Sinai peninsula. Britain and France would be the ones trying to keep the peace, which would be an excuse for them moving their troops into the area.^[4]On October 29, 1956 the Israelis started their attack on Egypt. Even with a larger army, Egypt didn't have the skill to beat the Israelis. The British and French demanded that the Israelis and Egyptians move away from the canal zone. On October 31, British and French warplanes began bombarding their Egyptian targets, which included the city of Cairo. They captured Port Said and Port Faud, important ports along the canal. The US and Soviet Union opposed the attack on Egypt. The US threatened to use nuclear warefare, and the Soviets threatened to intervene with their own army. With opposition from most countries around the world, the French and British armies withdrew from the region. The Israelis waited until the UN stationed peacekeeping forces in the places they captured before they finally withdrew. Even though the Egyptians had technically suffered a defeat (due to the large number of casualties compared to the other countries involved), Nasser claimed that he stood up to the European countries and, in doing so, became a famous political figure for Arabs. The Egyptians maintained control of the Suez Canal, even though the French and British were compensated for their loss.

A paratrooper cleaning his rifle

Significance

     This event was a of enormous significance during the the 1950's era. The actual crisis received media coverage from around the world. It showed that third world countries at that time could stand up and fight for themselves. Also, it showed the power of the Soviet Union and the US, and their ability to control countries around the world. Those two countries had become the two superpowers, and no longer was the British one of them. During that event, France and Britain were humiliated, and lost their influence around the world. Nasser was a Arab hero that showed other African leaders that they too could stand up to the British and fight for their independence. The war did help the French and British develop their Air Force, which was a major part of their army. Also, it showed that the UN was able to effectively act and send peacekeepers to Egypt, on their first peacekeeping mission ever. The Suez Crisis, along with many other events, helped shape the history of our world to what it is today. I do belive it was a necessary event to include in the "We Didn't Start the Fire" song, since it involved many countries of the world and had media coverage from all over the world.