One of Ike's finest hours, the 1956 Suez crisis was a "perfect storm," combining personal drama, international intrigue, and betrayal among allies.
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One of Ike's finest hours, the 1956 Suez crisis was a "perfect storm," combining personal drama, international intrigue, and betrayal among allies.
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In 1978, historian David Nichols published his first book "Lincoln and the Indians", which remains a rare study of a frequently overlooked aspect of Lincoln's presidency. I read and reviewed the book early in my days as an Amazon reviewer. Following his retirement from academic life, Nichols, who resides near the Eisenhower Library in Abilene, Kansas, effectively began a second career as a historian of the Eisenhower administration. "Eisenhower 1956" tells the story of Eisenhower's greatest foreign policy test: the Suez crisis of 1956, Eisenhower's handling of this crisis remains controversial. I wanted to read this book because of my own interest in and admiration for Eisenhower. I also remembered Nichols' first book on Lincoln and was inspired to see an author branch out in a new direction upon retirement. (Between 1978 and his two recent books on Eisenhower, Nichols apparently had not published a book.)
Nichols tells a complex, detailed history clearly and well. Although he is critical of some aspects of Eisenhower's handling of the Suez crisis, he praises Eisenhower's broad approach and what Nichols sees as his principled leadership. Some critics of Eisenhower's presidency tended to see him as disengaged and as deferential to his subordinates, in particular to his Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles. Critics of Eisenhower in the Middle East have also claimed that his administration showed too much sympathy for the Arab position and underestimated the threats that Israel faced. Nichols belongs with a group of scholars who, beginning in the 1980's, have reassessed Eisenhower's leadership style and gradually and substantially raised the stature of his presidency. In his book, Nichols portrays Eisenhower as an active, knowledgeable leader in the area of foreign affairs who managed top-down with the public interest rather than politics at heart. Eisenhower gave direction to his administration as opposed to responding passively to his staff.
Nichols shows that the Suez crisis had a long history during which Eisenhower's participation was mixed. The crisis coincided with Eisenhower's first heart attack and with a subsequent serious intestinal illness. During these periods, Eisenhower's active operation in government was necessarily limited. American policy thus tended to lack firm control, and it vacillated. During this time, the Soviet Union had begun massive arms sales to Egypt. The Israelis became concerned and the United States had to determine the extent to which it would support the sale of additional arms to Israel without precipitating an arms race and encouraging conflict. In addition, the United States and Egypt had discussed American assistance in the construction of the large Aswan Dam to stimulate Egypt's economy and reduce the flooding which over the ages had plagued the country. The Egyptian leader, Nasser, tried to play off the United States and the Soviet Union as providers of the aid. American policy on Aswan aid vacillated during Eisenhower's illness and led to the Suez crisis. During the period of Eisenhower's ill-health, he was also preoccupied with deciding whether he was physically in a condition to run for the presidency for a second term. Although Eisenhower was a Cold Warrior, his major preoccupation during his presidency was avoiding nuclear war which, the president understood, would have catastrophic, irrevocable consequences.
The Suez crisis began when Dulles rather peremptorily informed Egypt that it could not provide assistance for Aswan. A good part of this decision was a result of Congressional opposition. Nasser then nationalized the Suez canal in retaliation for the United States refusal of the aid, and Britain and France prepared for military action. Eisenhower opposed precipitate military action chiefly because of his fear that it would lead to broad war. He was committed to a negotiated resolution. Eisenhower believed that Egypt was within its legal rights to nationalize the canal as long as the canal remained open and was operated fairly. Britain, France, and Israel had reason to be worried.
For months, under Eisenhower's leadership, the allies sought a negotiated solution. Without Eisenhower's knowledge, Britain, France and Israel surreptitiously planned and camoflagued an invasion of Egypt, leading Eisenhower to claim, with great justification, that the allies had "double-crossed" him. Although his actions were and remain severely criticized, Eisenhower worked through the United Nations to arrange a cease-fire. The Soviet Union, which had invaded Hungary, had threatened to intervene on Egypt's behalf. The world may have been close to WW III, which Eisenhower was determined to avoid. The crisis came to an end and the threatened rupture with America's allies was tenuously restored.
Although the United States had effectively blundered into the crisis and showed a marked failure of intelligence operations in not detecting the British-French-Israeli plan before its implementation, Nichols gives Eisenhower high marks for leadership and principle in resolving the Suez crisis after it was thrust upon him. On the whole, and although even today Eisenhower is severely criticized over the Suez crisis, I think the praise is deserved.
As with subsequent administrations, Eisenhower tried to be friends with all parties in the Middle East and to encourage a negotiated solution to the problems which plagued the region at the time and continue to do so. Eisenhower's broad efforts proved no more successful than those of subsequent administrations. But in his cool, even-handed handling of the Suez crisis, Eisenhower may have averted a world war. He showed principled political leadership under substantial pressure. I am looking forward to reading Nichols' other book on the Eisenhower presidency: "A Matter of Justice: Eisenhower and the Beginning of the Civil Rights Revolution".
