Eisenhower with Nasser

 

 

 

Lessons from history – The Suez Crisis

Anthony Eden, (Conservative Party) took on the role of Prime Minister of the UK in 1955, shortly after the death of Churchill. His party had a healthy parliamentary majority and for the first year things went well. Problems arose in the course of 1955 when Eden started to suffer from recurring illnesses and many important policies were left to, “Rab Butler” to attend to including forming partnership with other european countries. Rab failed to take up the invitation to meet with, “the europeans” and the chance to be in at the start of the EEC was missed.

 

 

 

At around the same time Colonel Abdul Nasser came to the fore in Eygpt and nationalized the Suez Canal. Eden and the Conservative Party still believed the UK to be one of the World’s great powers, (although the country was skint and up to it’s ears in debt to the USA). Fearing the canal would be closed to Europe, acting together with France and the fledgling state of Israel, Eden ordered the invasion of Egypt taking the Suez Canal back under the control of the UK, France and Israel.

The invasion was costly. Eden, seeking support from the, “special relationship” was shocked to be informed that the USA would not aid the UK. Instead, giving support to the United Nations, (who had ordered the UK to withdraw from Egypt) the USA threatened to impose aid, trade and financial sanctions on the UK. UK forces withdrew from Egypt within days. In a later parliamentary inquiry Eden admitted lying to Parliament and to ordering civil servants to destroy anything that might provide evidence of the conspiracy he had entered into with France and Israel. He was forced to resign not long after.

 

 

 

Eisenhower threatened to bankrupt Britain unless it complied with US intructions and withdraw from Suez immediately

Harold Macmillan and President Dwight Eisenhower

 

 

 

Harold Macmillan, (supermac) took over the Party and limiting damage, set about modernising the country, increasing living standards, putting, “the pound in the pocket of the working man”. His 1959 electoral boast was, “You’ve never had it so good”. The Conservative party increased its majority in the General Election. The Suez fiasco was erased from history, (almost). Eden might have avoided disgrace had he heeded the content of the extract from Harold Macmillan’s diaries from September 27th 1952. The Special Relationship:

“We are threatened by the Americans with a mixture of patronizing pity and contempt. They treat us worse than they do any other country in Europe. They undermine our political influence all over the world. They really are a strange people. Perhaps the mistake we made is to continue to regard them as an Anglo-Saxon people. That blood is very much watered down. Now they are a Latin-Slav mixture with a fair amount of German and Irish. They are impatient, mercurial and panicky.”

 

John F Kennedy & Harold mcMillan

 

 

Fast forward from 1956 to 2003. Change the headline name to Blair then change Suez Canal to Iraq and you have history repeated. Oh!! one difference this time the USA assisted by the, “puppy dog UK” invaded a middle east country and created chaos resulting in the deaths of in excess of 650,000 Iragi’s and 5000 USA/UK servicemen and women, (casualties an additional 30,000+. Just what gave Blair & Bush cause to wreak such horror on nations?

1. Eden & Blair, both Westminster Prime Ministers, sent UK armed forces to invade a middle eastern country, having lied to Parliament, to gather support to their decision. Many Scottish soldiers were wounded, maimed and died. Independence will allow our parliament to decide when it is right to commit our armed forces to war.

2.The, “special relationship” quoted by, Blair, Brown, Cameron, Obama and Clinton is a myth since it implies mutual support. At the time of Suez the USA ordered Eden to withdraw UK armed forces from Egypt within 48 hours or suffer sanctions, withdrawal of financial support and other restrictions.

3. The, “special relationship” enjoyed a rebirth, through Blair & Bush, so that they would be able, (through emotional blackmail) to garner support of the UK public for invasion of Iraq. When the strategy failed the, “Weapons of Mass Destruction” story was concocted.

4. The so called “Special Relationship” is more astutely described by, Harold “Supermac” McMillan. Additionally, since that time the population of the USA is markedly changed. There are more citizens of Spanish, Asian and Indian descent than white Anglo Saxons. Gives substance to my view that there is no, “special relationship”. There never was.

5. Recent, “staged” press conference statements, (blatantly organized by Cameron) in support of the, “no” campaign by, Obama and Clinton should be treated by the UK public with contempt.

 

 

 

Lessons from History.

1. The, “Special Relationship” is easy to explain. The UK supports the USA.

2. Westminster politicians are well versed in the matter of being, “economical with the truth”. Remember Thatchers representative’s performance in Australia at the time she sought to block diary revelations damaging to the Conservative Party?

3. Committing UK forces to war, on a lie is commonplace in Westminster.

Vote, “Yes” to independence in September free Scotland from the sickness that is Westminster.