The Suez Crisis of 1956 was a pivotal geopolitical conflict stemming from British Prime Minister Anthony Eden's desperate attempt to undermine Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, fueled by a clash over control of the Suez Canal, vital oil supplies, and differing visions of post-colonial power.
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this is Egypt
1956 these are British paratroopers
fighting on the orders of British prime
minister Anthony Eden he has gambled on
a war in a desperate bid to destroy
Egypt's new Young president Gamal Abdul
nassa I'm utterly convinced that the
action we have taken is
right this is a war over who will run
this Egyptian Waterway the seiz canal
and the vital oil supplies which are
transported through it seiz is a crisis
which will push the world to the brink
of nuclear catastrophe that moment I did
think this is really going to be the
third world
war in Britain we know suiz is a war
based on a prime minister's lie a lie
which destroys him they my six sexed up
their intelligence but seen from the
other side seiz is a story of how a
small poor Arab country defended itself
against the Western World and won people
will defend their country they will
land in February 1955 Egypt's young
president gal Abdul nassa meets British
prime minister Anthony Eden for the
first time the two men dislike one
another from the start the impression of
President n Anthony aen was that he was
small church and
not you know committed with imposing the
British point of view on the other
side for Eden Egypt remains part of
Britain's sphere of influence in the
Middle East although nominally
independent since 1922 Egyptian kings
have beautifully done what British prime
ministers have told them to do he didn't
lived in the
legend of the Empire but the world was
different Eden didn't realize the change
in the balance of
power Anthony Eden is every inch the
conservative prime minister educated at
Eaton and Oxford he was foreign
secretary during the war and is Winston
successor but in NASA Eden encounters a
new kind of leader he is part of a new
generation of Egyptians determined to
country NASA is one of a group of
officers who had overthrown the Playboy
King Farooq in
1952 2 years later NASA had shown Brit
that Egypt would not be pushed around an
aggressive Guerilla campaign forces the
British to evacuate 88,000 soldiers from
the biggest base in the world on the
banks of the sez
Canal at that time what was most
important is real Independence and to
free France agrees to supply Israel with
the Jewish States first jet fighters
to NASA it looks like an increasingly
powerful enemy is at the gates the
French are giving Israel
arms I am confronting situation that may
distruct my
country should I stand [Music]
[Music]
still so NASA decides he too will look
abroad for arms as with the loan for his
Dam his first call is on the United
States Naser from the first day of the r
russan ask the
Americans I need arms our army needs arm
and he asked the British the same
question neither the British nor the
that but this is the
1950s the depths of the Cold War the
west and the Soviet Union are locked in
a battle for influence across the world
NASA knows that if Washington says no
Then maybe Nikita Kristof in Moscow will
say yes Nasser was an anti-communist the
Soviets knew full well he was an
anti-communist they knew that he was
putting Communists in jail uh he didn't
let those Communists out of jail when
his relations improved with the Soviet
Union but both sides made a pragmatic
decision we are a Believer I am a
believer I believe in God n used to
believe in God n used to pray the
Communists don't believe in God they
don't P but in Eden's view NASA does
look like a communist stooge the Prime
Minister and the Americans decide to
punish him for cutting a deal with the
Soviets their response is to mount a
covert campaign against NASA code named
Omega Omega includes propaganda that
provide information to journalists to
broadcasters that say NASA really isn't
a very good person can you please report this
this [Music]
[Music]
Omega also includes sanctions against
Egypt it includes blocking military aid to
to
Egypt then as part of this undeclared
war a secret decision is taken to slow
down financing on the Aswan Dam Anthony
Eden and the US Secretary of State John
Foster Dulles are behind the new
strategy I think dois was angry with
NASA for having almost flaunted his
Independence I really think that that
dois believed that NASA's Behavior was a
him in London Eden's mistrust of NASA is
increased by some mysterious
intelligence reports which have just
landed on his desk they are from an MI6
contact known as lucky
break lucky break tells Eden that NASA
is a porn of the Soviet Union
and the Egyptian people will welcome his
overthrow from reading the reports that
MI6 is giving to British officials and
giving to the Americans I think they are
taking a few sources and they are sexing them
up no one individual could have provided
the information that Nasser was so close
to the Soviets that Naser was so
vulnerable to being overthrown if not
assassinated because that was not true
true but lucky break is telling the
British prime minister what he wants to
hear a firm attitude that the government
have adopted is not a foreign office
Minister Anthony nutting is one of the
first to realize just how far the prime
minister is now prepared to go over an
open Line having just said it's me we
started a violent argument on the
telephone and he was really violent in
that coners deis um and ended up by
shouting at me I don't want NASA
neutralized I want him destroyed the way
two two people in all conversation Eden
and Nutty Nutty said said subsequently
murder operatives within MI6 take the
prime minister at his word what you have
is a Thomas AET situation where Eden
says will someone not make me rid of
this turbulent Nasser
I'm not
exaggerating nearly every month nearly
every month there was an attempt against
n from the West either French or British or
or
Israelis nearly every
month as NASA was making a public speech
in Alexandria a young man fired eight
bullets at him all missed the premier
but two of his AIDS were wounded the
plans just are are wildly out of control
putting nerve gas into the ventilation
system of nasser's headquarters trying
to put poison into nasser's coffee
Nasser if Lucky break did not exist 1956
he would have had to be created to
justify their extravagant plans to get
on the 19th of July 1956 the Egyptian
ambassador to the USA is called into the
state department he is informed that the
financing of the Aswan dam is
cancelled if the West can't assassinate
Nessa then they will destroy his dreams
to develop Egypt to add insult to injury
president NASA only learns of the
decision from the radio news I was
surprised by the
insultive attitude which the refusal was
declared not by the refusal itself but
the insultive attitude and which meant humiliation
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