Pre-Suez Crisis Anglo-American Relations in Egypt, 1950-1954

Abstract

The focus of this paper is Anglo-American relations in Egypt during the early Cold War period. The goal is to show that relations between the Western allies were more contentious than the analysis previously offered by a number of leading scholars. This has been done by examining early Cold War Western strategy for the defense of the Middle East and Anglo-Egyptian negotiations related to the future of the large British military base in the Suez Canal region. What this paper reveals is that rather than working in concert, as others have argued, Great Britain and the United States during this period sparred over tactics and strategy. The major source of contention between the Western powers centered on Britain's irrational commitment to an antiquated foreign policy based on 19th century principles of imperial domination and exploitation. Whereas Britain wanted to combine Western strategy for the defense of the Middle East with its plan to reconstitute its Empire, the United States sought a new strategic outlook that more thoroughly incorporated the nationalist dreams and economic aspirations of the countries in the region.