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 partnerships with other European countries.
Butler 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 Egypt 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 agreement 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.”
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 Iraqis’ 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 would 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Thatcher’s 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.
caltonjock 
Everything about Colonial power is a LIE and rotten to the core!
A timely reminder/look back, confirms what WE all know, that there has NEVER been ‘special relationship’,
between the USA and the fictitious ‘uk’!
That Scotland and WE her people, had/have these two foreign Governments use our Nation for their benefits and involve us in their FALSE wars/LAND GRABS etc, is abhorrent.
As is the non-stop pillaging and plundering by both foreign Governments and their CORPORATE pals.
Time to bring it to an end!
“… Anglo-Saxon …”! Stuff that!
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I remember it well, (giving my age away). The Israeli’s cut through the Saini desert like a knife through butter and were on the banks of the Suez Canal in 48 hours. Our soldiers took Alexandria within a day and the French did their bit. They were in the process of clearing the canal of shipping sunk by Nasser when the call came from the US to back off and withdraw. Anthony Eden refused but had to comply when faced with threats of US embargo as did the French and Israeli’s. Eden died not long afterwards. If we had persevered it would have been the end of Nasser and Russian involvement in the Middle East. The Israelis’ had plans to retain the ground up to the canal whilst handing over large tracs of land to the South and West of the Gaza Strip to the Palestinians as a new and very large homeland. That opportunity was lost and we well know the outcome.
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The ‘Special Relationship’ was definitively ended in 1812 at The Battle of New Orleans.
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I believe the soldiers were also ordered to poison the wells and pour concrete
in the sewers before leaving. I don’t know if they complied with this order.
Jock have you seen “The Spider’s Web” documentary about the “City” after
Suez and the Empire’s Ending.
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No .Is it informative
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It’s about how after ’56 and the collapse of empire, the ‘City’, no longer being
being kept rich by the plunder of other nations, had to find new revenue streams to remain relevant. London was forced to pivot to what would become offshore tax havens. It’s quite revealing and very interesting.
I enjoyed it and think other indy minded folk would too. It fits well after your article. Give it five mins and see if it’s your cup o’ tea.
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I watched it and it refreshed my memories of the period. What still riles me is the behaviour of the privileged uber rich of the City of London who kept their wealth well away from the British Treasury, secreting it in hidden accounts in British protectorates with the Bank of England’s tacit agreement. One very trying factor was the WW2 debt to the USA, which they demanded be paid back with interest. For 20 years after the war the British taxpayers met that obligation but the uber rich residents of the City of London and their widespread cabals in England, Scotland, Wales, the Canary Isles, the Isle of Man and elsewhere contributed nothing. The soaking of the many ensures their place in society is maintained by the higher class and their rich friends
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