In source B, the photograph of Nasser amongst a triumphant crowd, strengthens the assertion that Britain was depicted as foolish because it shows that in Egypt, Nasser had an impressive amount of support. This shows that when Egypt was liberated from British reign, they were euphoric and so Britain was mortified because they were detested by the Egyptian populace. But the Source does have limitations because there is only a diminutive quantity of people there, we know that a proportion of the Egyptian public didn’t back Nasser and many people were pro-British, as a result of Britain’s attractive and contemporary ideas.
In source C, the caricature of the Egyptian sailor and Eden, we firstly see that the picture could be interpreted to back the viewpoint that Britain was humiliated because it shows that Egypt were very much in control. Also it illustrates Eden as a barmy man and so shows the Egyptian people that he couldn’t do anything to damage Egypt without hurting himself and so therefore Britain embarrasses itself and its allies. However, it could suggest that Eden was trying to do the best for his country and was attempting to satisfy too many people, but that both his objectives and motives were well intended.
Source D, which is an extract from the Daily Mail, is equally alienated in its opinion. The source identifies that the newspaper, which to a degree supports the views of the British public, believes that Eden’s methods of handling with Nasser are vindicated. However, the newspapers use of offensive language such as ‘Big Shot’ indicates that the newspaper characterizes the view of the less knowledgeable members of the public. This demonstrates that Britain was relying a great deal on a propaganda campaign to indoctrinate the minds of the naive and ignorant of the populace and make them agree with his methods.
In source E which is a photograph of a rally held in London, shows that Britain was greatly humiliated by the events of the Suez Crisis. It shows that the British public were furious at Eden’s selection about action over the Suez but now the British populace was made to look foolish because of there governments actions in the eyes of international opinion. But it only shows a small portion of the British public and also only shows the belief of the British public and not of the other countries.
Source F, which is a letter from a member of the British public to the Daily Mirror, agrees with the assertion that Britain was portrayed as foolish to a degree. It states that ‘military action against Egypt is quite immoral’, which is true to an extent. So therefore because Britain used military conflict in Suez it demonstrated to the world that they were dissipated. Alternatively, the opinion is morally correct and righteous because Nasser’s actions and techniques were comparable to that of a dictator. However this source cannot be very useful because it is the opinion of one person who doesn’t portray international opinion. But we can tell that this person is embarrassed by his Prime Minister’s actions.
Source G which is a letter from Sir Anthony Eden to Dwight D Eisenhower, explains to Eisenhower that Britain did what it needed to do and so shows it believed they were obligated. On the other hand, Britain was also very embarrassed by this for several reasons. Firstly, Eden says, “I have never thought Nasser a Hitler, but the parallel with Mussolini is close.” But in source A, Eden compares Nasser to Hitler in his broadcast. Secondly, the letter shows that Britain realised its mistakes and decided to plead to America to let Britain carry on the operation and because of this begging they were made to look idiotic, stupid and importantly defenceless.
Source H, which is the extract from the book by Selwyn Lloyd, illustrates to us that Britain was doing what they believed would be the best for their country.. However, Selwyn Lloyd shows that Britain also didn’t thrive in their objectives and contradicts Eden’s view that the war was in the benefit of other countries as well as Britain. Britain was humiliated in the Suez because of the conditions that Britain left under were quite upsetting. They had no backing from the USA, because they saw Britain and her actions as a threat also did want to get involved in a volatile situation with the Arabs’. Also the Soviet Union, a rival to the U.S.A could ‘exploit the situation’ and so would increase their influence and impact in the Middle East and Britain was extremely humiliated when the USSR threatened them with military action.. However, this was also very embarrassing because it showed that Britain’s involvement in Egypt annoyed the Cold War situation. After Britain left Egypt and the Suez, Nasser still remained in supremacy and also remained an international Arab hero, something the British didn’t want. Because of Nasser’s rule the Canal remained nationalised and Nasser also claimed that the Suez Crisis was a success for the Egyptians because they had shown that they could compete against international superpowers.
Britain was embarrassed, by the fact that her main ally, America did not support her in the Suez War and as a result of Eisenhower’s decision, America kept their respect. This also commenced the end of the British Empire and Britain became a puppet of the USA. The Suez Crisis was such a failure, that after Britain left, the pound collapsed in value and as a result of these vast mortifications, Eden fell into ill health and resigned as Prime Minister and the party’s public support declined immensely.
On the other hand, Britain believed that the operation in the Suez was a honest campaign because they saw Nasser as a menace not only to Egypt but to the whole world as well. Nasser had breached an international law by nationalising the Suez Canal and Britain believed that something must be done about it and also they believed that it was right to use military action in the Middle East because they wanted to eradicate what could potentially be, a merciless dictator. Obviously Britain made some huge mistakes in their planning of the operation in certain aspects, such as public support and international support but we can also see that most of their motives were well-intended and that maybe the Suez was good for Britain because they didn’t go out without a fight.
