How Suez debacle proved the tipping point in final retreat from empire
http://www.guardian.co.uk/egypt/story/0,,1818430,00.html
In the fourth of our series we assess the consequences of the crisis
for Britain's place in the world
Michael White
Wednesday July 12, 2006
The Guardian
The humiliating abandonment of the Anglo-French invasion of Suez in
collusion with Israel 50 years ago marked a turning point in Britain's
retreat from empire and ensured that London would never again attempt
global military action without first securing the acquiescence of
Washington and, if possible, the UN, political veterans of the crisis
agree.
Yet it is also common ground that the rift caused within British
society and parties by Suez was far sharper than comparable divisions
over the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003, because the shock was greater
and pro-empire sentiment was still strong less than a decade after the
loss of "the jewel in the crown" - India's 1947 independence.
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