Eisenhower Presses for a Ceasefire at Suez

Israeli forces entered Sinai on 29 October 1956. Britain and France followed with their own attack, presenting it as an operation to separate the belligerents and protect the Suez Canal. The three governments had secretly coordinated their military plans against Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser. [1]

Nasser had nationalized the British-French Suez Canal Company on 26 July and offered compensation to its shareholders. British and French leaders opposed the takeover, while American attempts to negotiate an arrangement for operating the canal failed. President Dwight D. Eisenhower now faced a war involving two NATO allies and the possibility of Soviet intervention. [1]

On 6 November, Eisenhower urged Prime Minister Anthony Eden to accept an unconditional ceasefire and a United Nations force. He wanted all five permanent Security Council powers excluded from that force, preventing either the invading European states or the Soviet Union from using it to retain a military role. [2] [1]

Related Reading

• Egypt and the United States
• Suez Invasion and Israeli Withdrawal Negotiations with Washington [1]
• Eisenhower Opposes the Suez Invasion [1]