My favourite American President

[King Tech Quadafi]

President Dwight D. Eisenhower was the last American president in the Twentieth Century to successfully stand up to the pressures and unyielding annoyances of the Israeli government and its American supporters. Although President Kennedy shared his predecessor’s views intellectually, he entered the White House after an extremely close election. Consequently, he had to assume a more cautious approach.

Nov. 1956: The Suez Crisis

The stage was set for the Suez Crisis in 1955 when the Eisenhower administration began pressuring Israel to demonstrate its commitment to peace in the Middle East.

On February 28, 1955, President Gamal Adbel Nasser made a speech full of warnings against Israeli atrocities. He emphasized a bloody raid on the Gaza Strip by the Israelis, allegedly a retaliation for raids made from Gaza. Nasser was also upset with the United States for denying his request for arms a few months earlier. In his speech he repeated the request for Egypt to buy arms but was ignored.

On September 4, 1955, Egypt announced that it had received a proposal from the Soviet Union for an arms sale. The Eisenhower administration treated this as an idle threat which angered Nasser. As a result, he brokered a cotton-for-arms barter agreement with Czechoslovakia on September 27 in which Egypt received $200 million worth of arms—tanks, MiG planes, artillery, submarines, and small arms.

Israel immediately renewed its joint arms agreement with the United States, France, and Britain. In addition, Israel requested a treaty guaranteeing its security, but it was denied by the Western powers because they knew that Israel’s military strength was vastly superior to the neighboring Arab nations.

On August 26, 1955, Secretary of State John Foster Dulles made a speech before the Council of Foreign Relations in New York in which he outlined terms for peace in the Middle East. He stated that the problem of Palestinian refugees could be solved, but Israel should not be expected to assume the full cost. He proposed that Congress approve an international loan to finance the resettlement or repatriating of Palestinian refugees. The loan would also help develop irrigation projects to assist refugees in cultivating their land for growing crops.

The Israelis were somewhat agitated by Dulles’s speech because he mentioned a possible boundary revision. Dulles promptly responded to clarify the American position. He stated in no uncertain terms that if Sharett and Ben-Gurion (Israeli leaders) wanted American diplomatic, political, and military aid, they would have to demonstrate their peaceful intentions by helping resolve the sensitive problems of Palestinian refugees and boundary disputes. On November 9, President Eisenhower—who was in a Denver hospital convalescing from a heart attack—confirmed Dulles’s position in a formal statement made from his hospital bed.2

At that point, it became clear that the United States could no longer be counted on to support Israel’s continuing efforts to expand its borders. Consequently, Israel turned to the European powers for support. Over the next year, trouble began to arise over the Suez Canal.

The Suez Canal is a sea-level waterway running north-south across the Isthmus of Suez in Egypt to connect the Mediterranean and the Red seas. The canal separates the African continent from Asia, and it provides the shortest seagoing route between Europe and the lands lying around the Indian and western Pacific oceans. It is one of the world's most heavily used shipping lanes.3


On October 29, 1956, Israel attacked Egypt and advanced toward the Suez Canal. On November 1, British and French forces also invaded Egypt and began occupation of the canal zone, but growing opposition from President Eisenhower, Secretary of State Dulles, UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld, and Soviet threats of intervention put an immediate stop to British and French support, but Israeli troops still occupied the Gulf of Aqaba and the Gaza Strip in defiance of a UN resolution.5 Eisenhower was so angered by European involvement in the attack that he telephoned British Prime Minister Anthony Eden and gave him such a tongue-lashing that the Prime Minister was reduced to tears.6 (Footnote 24)

Eisenhower told Dulles: "Foster, you tell’em, goddamn it, we’re going to apply sanctions, we’re going to the United Nations, we’re going to do everything that there is to stop this thing." He later explained, "We just told the Israelis it was absolutely indefensible and that if they expect our support in the Middle East and in maintaining their position, they had better behave… We went to town right away to give them hell


http://abbc.com/jfk/astucia/10.htm

[CharlieBrown]

Jimmy Carter was my favourite president, but congress fucked him over. But i want to see Ralph Nader become president and some how get both houses of congress full with people like the democrats new minority leader (i forget her  name) of the HoR. Something tells me that i won't ever see that happening though.

[CWalker187]

Jimmy Carter was my favourite president, but congress fucked him over. But i want to see Ralph Nader become president and some how get both houses of congress full with people like the democrats new minority leader (i forget her  name) of the HoR. Something tells me that i won't ever see that happening though.

The new minority leader is a left wing extremist and she is really out of touch with the American people.

[CharlieBrown]

And, whats your point? I was just saying thats the kind of congress i would like to see.

[Trauma-san]

I'm glad congress is maj. republican.  At least now the president will get some stuff passed, good or bad.  I'd rather be moving then sitting stagnant having them fools shoot down each other's ideas.  

[verbalassaulta]

mine is bill clinton...i wish he was still running things...things we be a lot better...i cant stand bush

[CharlieBrown]

Why do you like Bill Clinton so much? I think he was a lot better than Bush (both of them) but i don't like the idea of the third way (mainly because Blair fell for this idea hook, line and sinker even after everyone realised it was a load of bollocks). Its a good way of winning elections as it easily appeals to voters in the centre of the political spectrum or those who don't have strong political beliefs. However it means that there is no "real" philosophy when thinking up legislation. The idea of finding the best way is a joke as the best way is different to different people. For example the best way to run a health service is completely up to an individuals beliefs. Some people believe it benefits society to have private companys providing medical services while others believe a National health service is the best way. They both work, just in different ways and both with there advantages and disadvantages, so it is completely up to individual opinion as to which works "best". If you don't know about the third way that might not make much sense, so do some independent research if thats the case.

[CharlieBrown]

I'm not attacking you i'm just curious as to why out of all the Presidents your country has had , he is your favorite.

[verbalassaulta]

well im just speaking in my lifetime.....clinton is far better than either bushes or reagon...as far as ever...the greatest president is easily FDR

[CharlieBrown]

And if only he had lived a bit longer and there would would have been no need for Truman the world would be a very different place, probably a better place.

[Don Jacob]

FDR or JFK

[Jay ay Beee]

Truman did his best, he couldn't really have done more than he did because the American people were demanding the disbanding and demobilization of the army.  Of course he murdered millions of Japanese (the biggest terrorist attack/war crime ever) but with that aside his containment of Communism was all he could do.

[OutSider]

big sexy clinton... he my babies daddy.......