(5) Suez Canal Crisis

Colonel Gamal Abd al-Nasser

      To begin, in 1952 Egypt was abruptly taken under control by Colonel Gamal Abd al-Nasser. Nasser believed that Egypt should be its own republic government, and King Farouk was forced either to abdicate or undergo lengthily and time-consuming battles for the throne. The future did not look bright for Nasser as Saudi Arabia was closely allied with King Farouk, but Saudi Arabia wanted to keep their ties strong with this major influencing country. In order not to arouse a bigger battle, Saudi Arabia decided to stay quiet until the nationalization of the Suez Canal in 1956. WIth the intention of Suez Canal nationalism, the removal of France and Britain from this popular Canal was a giant struggle; however, Saudi Arabia still chose to stick out the problems with Nasser. In order to keep good ties, Saudi Arabia sent military reinforcements into Egypt. Revengeful, Britain, France, and Israel all decided that an attack should be carried out in response to the sudden seizure of their territory. Nasser was mostly unaffected, as they had Saudi Arabia on their side, and Saudi Arabia could stop the necessary flow of oil into Britain and France. Also, at the time, the United Nations believed nationalizing the Suez Canal was an amazing idea, which increased the confidence of Nasser. Even though Saudi Arabia could do nothing to affect Israel, this gesture against two major European powers made Israel have no support in times of crisis.
     In 1956, in return for Saudi Arabia's help in defeating Britain, France, and Israel, as well as helping with the seizure of the Suez Canal for nationalism (and profit), Nasser decided to stop by Saudi Arabia and say "hello" to the Saud family. During this meeting, Nasser proposed pan-Arab ideas that incorporated socialism with Egypt, Syria, and Saudi Arabia. This did not blow over well with a family that controlled Saudi Arabia by means of a monarchy and also had to deal with constant slander by the Egyptians, even though the two countries were considered allies.
     In order to deal with Nasser's big ideas for the future involving a giant Arab state, Saudi Arabia formed an alliance with Jordan and Iraq in 1956. Although these countries all had issues in the past, they came together in order to go against the construction of a powerful nation lead by Colonel, and now President, Nasser. As for Nasser, his power began to decline, and he died before any real big plans had been carried through. As for Saudi Arabia, this entire Suez Canal Crisis lead to more allies like Jordan and Iraq, which could help the country out in the future.
     The fact that Saudi Arabia did not decline during such a big crisis shows Saudi Arabia has strength and confidence within it's government. Saudi Arabia took a stand in what the President believed was morally correct at the time. This shows that in the future, Saudi Arabia can grow into a bigger power than it is right now; as it has proven it's strength to overcome wars and battles and still come out on top. Other large nations should look out as Saudi Arabia is strengthening.  Along with their growing power, oil prices may start to soar if Saudi Arabia disagrees with any enforced laws or revolutions.