oct 29, 1956 - Suez Canal Crisis

Description:

Important Persons Involved: Gamal Abdel Nassar and Dwight Eisenhower were involved in the Suez Canal Crisis.

What it Was: Trapped between the Soviet Union and the United States, Gamal Abdel Nassar, the president of Egypt, sought an independent route. When negotiations with the U.S. failed in 1956, he nationalized the Suez Canal. The canal was the lifeline for Western Europe's oil. Britain and France, in alliance with Israel, seized the canal. Eisenhower urged Britain and France to pull back in fear that Egypt would look to the Soviets for help. He applied pressure through the UN General Assembly, which called for a truce and troop withdrawal. Egypt reclaimed the canal and built the Aswan Dam on the Nile with Soviet support.

Significance to the Cold War: The Suez Canal Crisis caused a shift in the Cold War in the Middle East, as the West lost a potential ally in Nassar.

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