The Logic Off Topic list

At 01:37 PM 26/09/01 -0400, you wrote:
>Hey does anyone remember what the Suez Incident was? I think it was in 
>1956 and the US took the side of the Arabs against England and France. 
>This came up on another list, and no one can remember exactly what 
>happened.

As I recall (vaguely) the Suez canal was owned and controlled by Brits and
was seized (nationalised) by Nasser's Egypt. (Perhaps the French had an
interest in it too) There was a failed attempt to get up a military
response -- to retake the Canal.

 here is a paste from A web link:
http://novaonline.nv.cc.va.us/eli/evans/his135/MODULES/events/suez56

At the same time as the Hungarian uprising, a serious crisis
           developed over control of the Suez Canal, which connects the
           Mediterranean Sea with the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea.  Built
           between 1859 and 1869 by the French engineer Ferdinand de
           Lesseps, it was acquired largely by Great Britain in 1875.  By
           the provisions of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936, Great
           Britain enjoyed the right to maintain defense forces in the Suez
           Canal Zone. 
                                   
           Egyptian nationalists repeatedly demanded that Great Britain
           evacuate the Canal Zone, and in 1954 the two countries signed
           an agreement, superseding the 1936 treaty that provided for
           withdrawal of all British troops, and in 1956 all British troops
left.
                                   
           When Egypt concluded an arms deal with Czechoslovakia, the
           U.S. Secretary of State John Dulles announced the withdrawal
           of all U.S. funds and assistance for President Gamal Abdel
           Nasser's, who had come to power in the 1953 nationalistic
           revolution, development program. In response to this treatment
           by the United States and the refusal of Western powers to fund
           the Aswan Dam on the Upper Nile River, Nasser nationalized the
           Suez Canal on 26 July 1956. 
                                   
           The nationalization of the canal surprised the world, especially
           the British and French stockholders who owned the Suez Canal
           Company. Although Nasser promised compensation to the
           company for its loss, Britain, France and Israel began plotting to
           take back the canal and overthrow Nasser as well. When
           attempts to reach an agreement with Egypt on a new form of
           international control for the Canal failed, Israel accused Egypt of
           planning an attack and sent the Israeli army across the Sinai
           Peninsula toward the Canal.  (Britain, France and Israel had
           united in secret, something that they denied publicly for many
           years, and made arrangements for Israel to make the initial
           invasion of Egypt and capture one side of the Suez Canal.)
           When further British and French diplomatic initiatives failed,
           they sent troops to occupy the canal. 
                                   
            The United States opposed this action as a violation of the
           principle of self-determination. The American delegation at the
           United Nations voted in favor of a General Assembly resolution
           calling for an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of the
           invading troops. Great Britain, France and Israel eventually
           accepted these terms. 
                                   
           In March 1957, under the supervision of a U.N. police force, the
           Suez Canal was cleared of wreckage and opened to shipping. 
           The canal was returned to Egypt, and reparations were paid by
           Egypt under the supervision of the World Bank. Overall the
           actions of  Britain and France served to draw Nasser and Egypt
           into further relations with the USSR. The fight over the canal
           also laid the groundwork for the Six Day War in 1967 due to a
           lack of a peace settlement following the 1956 war. 
                                   
           In January 1957, President Eisenhower asked Congress for
           authorization to use military force, if requested, by any Middle
           Eastern nation to check aggression and, second, to set aside a
           sum of $200 million to help those Middle Eastern countries that
           desired aid from the United States. Congress granted both
           requests.  This policy became known as the Eisenhower
           Doctrine.