Suez Crisis

conflict=Suez Crisis (Arab-Israeli conflict)

Cease fire and withdrawal

The operation to take the canal was highly successful from a military point of view, but a political disaster due to external forces. Along with Suez, the United States was also dealing with the near-simultaneous Hungary crisis, and faced the public relations embarrassment (especially in the eyes of the Third World) of criticizing the Soviet Union's military intervention there while not also criticizing its two principal European allies' actions. Perhaps more significantly, the US also feared a wider war after the Soviet Union threatened to intervene on the Egyptian side and launch attacks by "all types of modern weapons of destruction" on London and Paris.

Related Topics:
Hungary crisis - Public relations - Third World - Soviet Union - London

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Thus, the Eisenhower administration forced a cease-fire on Britain and France, which it had previously told the Allies it would not do. Part of the pressure that the United States used against Britain was financial, as Eisenhower threatened to sell the United States reserves of the British pound and thereby precipitate a collapse of the British currency.

Related Topics:
Eisenhower administration - Reserves

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The British government and the pound thus both came under pressure. Eden was forced to resign, and the invading forces withdrew in March 1957. Before the withdrawal, Lester Pearson, Canada's acting cabinet minister for external affairs, had gone to the United Nations and suggested creating a United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) in the Suez to "keep the borders at peace while a political settlement is being worked out." The United Nations eagerly accepted this suggestion, and the force was sent, greatly improving conditions in the area. Lester Pearson was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for his efforts. The United Nations Peacekeeping Force was Pearson's creation and he is considered the father of the modern concept "peacekeeping".

Related Topics:
Pound - 1957 - Lester Pearson - Canada - United Nations - Peacekeeping

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~