Eisenhower and Israel, and the relevant lessons for today - Parts 4 and 5 of 5
Eisenhower and Israel, and the relevant lessons for today - Parts 4 and 5 of 5
Table of contents
1. Introduction and summary LINK
2. January 1953 - October 1956 (from Eisenhower's inauguration to the Sinai War) LINK
3. October 1956 - January 1961 - (from the Sinai War to the end of Eisenhower's term) LINK
4. A list of selected world events that occurred during Eisenhower's administration LINK
5. Eisenhower, Nixon regret - when it's too late LINK
-------------------
4. A list of selected world events that occurred during Eisenhower's administration
Reading how obsessively Eisenhower-Dulles tried to micro-manage the Israel-Arab conflict, one might be led to the conclusion that nothing else of significance occurred during the Eisenhower administration. Nothing is further from the truth.
Overall, such mega trends as the Cold War and decolonization of Asia and Africa were in progress. At the top of the agenda were such crucial questions as the future of Germany, Berlin and Austria - still occupied when Eisenhower began his term - the future of NATO, disarmament and detente.
Among the specific events that took place at the time were the death of Stalin and the subsequent changes in Soviet leadership (March 1953); strikes and insurrection in East Germany (June 1953); the end of the Korean War (July 1953); the USSR announcement that she has developed the H-Bomb (August 1953); riots in Trieste (September-November 1953); the cease-fire agreement signed by France and the Vietmin (July 1954); fire exchanges between China and Formosa (September 1954); Germany becoming an independent state and member of NATO, and the USSR establishing the Warsaw Pact (May 1955); the fall of Peron in Argentina (September 1955); attempts to settle the East-West disputes in meetings of the four major powers (Geneva, October 1955); Anti-government uprisings in Hungary and Poland - especially in Poznan (June 1956); Hungarian anti-Soviet revolt (October 1956); official annexation of Kashmir by India, in violation of UN resolutions (January 1957); Sputnik and the space race (October 1957); A Tibetan revolt against the Chinese occupation (March 1959); War between China and India (October 1959); US-France dispute about NATO (December 1959); riots in S Korea against Singman (Syngman) Rhee (April 1960), The crisis of the U2 piloted by Francis Gary Powers (May to August 1960); the Castro subversion in Guatemala and Nicaragua (November 1960); the Communist invasion in Laos, the Lomumba crisis in the Congo, and the US breaking off relations with Cuba (January 1961).
One has to wonder about the dedication of the Eisenhower-Dulles Goliath who, in the midst of all this international turmoil, found the time, energy and resources to clobber one little David.
5. Eisenhower, Nixon regret - when it's too late
There are two indispensable sources that report about the after-the-fact regrets that both Eisenhower and Nixon (as Vice President at the time) showed with regard to forcing Israel, France and the UK to withdraw from Egypt.
The first of these sources is Nixon's own memoirs. The relevant passage, written in first person by Nixon himself, reads as follows:
[O]n October 29, Israel invaded Egypt after several months of dispute over access to the Suez Canal. On November 5, the day before our election, British and French paratroops landed in Egypt to support the Israeli invasion and to protect their own rights there.
Eisenhower and Dulles put heavy public pressure on Britain, France, and Israel to withdraw their forces from Suez. In retrospect I believe that our actions were a serious mistake. Nasser became even more rash and aggressive than before, and the seeds of another Mideast war were planted. The most tragic result was that Britain and France were so humiliated and discouraged by the Suez crisis that they lost the will to play a major role on the world scene. From this time forward the United States would by necessity be forced to "go it alone" in the foreign policy leadership of the free world. I have often felt that if the Suez crisis had not arisen during the heat of a presidential election campaign a different decision would have been made.
Quoted from p. 179 of
Nixon, Richard. The Memoirs of Richard Nixon. New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1978.
The second source is the "authorized biography" of Max Fisher. The relevant text is quoted below in full, to preempt the accusation of "quoting out of context". The setting was a meeting Max Fisher held with Eisenhower shortly before Eisenhower died:
[A]s Fisher's conversation with him [with Eisenhower] drew to a close, the former president wistfully commented: "You know, Max, looking back at Suez, I regret what I did. I never should have pressured Israel to evacuate the Sinai."
Fisher was astonished by the statement, but apparently he was not the only one to whom Eisenhower had divulged this information.
"Eisenhower," says Nixon, "many years later, in the 1960s, told me -- and I'm sure he told others -- that he thought that the action that was taken [at Suez] was one he regretted. He thought it was a mistake."
Fisher started to say goodbye to Eisenhower; it was then, almost as an afterthought, that Eisenhower revealed another startling facet of his reconsideration. Although the former president did not live long enough to witness the results -- in doing so he clarified the course of Fisher's political career.
"Max," Eisenhower said, "if I'd had a Jewish adviser working for me, I doubt I would have handled the situation the same way. I would not have forced the Israelis back."
Quoted from pages xviii to xix of:
Golden, Peter. Quiet Diplomat - A biography of Max M. Fisher. New York: Cornwall Books, 1992.
It would be useful for the sake of Israel and the West if the current Eisenhower would reflect on these regrets before he, too, blunders.
Posted by Joseph Alexander Norland at June 9, 2005 08:03 AM
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1.
BobW
said:
Comments On The Relevant Lessons Re Aspects of 4 & 5 Of 5:
In August, 53, Ike told his Attorney General to develop plans to protect US oil interests in the Middle East by subordinating anti-trust matters to US national security interests. This was accomplished. Summary: The Justice Dept was eclipsed by the State Dept. Followon Summary: A parallel example can be seen re the later antiboycott legislation. The USG cannot control partly owned offshore subsidiaries.
The US major oil companies were allowed to form a cartel (with UK and French participation). Senator Lyndon Johnson assisted.
The Suez crisis was 1956. Recall that two thirds of Suez Canal traffic was oil.
A pending summary for the near future gleaned from the Eisenhower experience:
Corrolate these 3 categories for a forecast: 1. Diaspora Jewish policy positions re Israel and the Middle East, 2. US Jewish political support of US political parties, and 3. the US financial rackets, eg CalPERS, the California Employees Retirement System, America's largest state pension fund, New York Pension Fund, the second largest after CalPERS, New York Mercantile Exchange(runs oil futures along with a few other markets [quasi-cartels]). Review Joseph's Eisenhower era posts. Expect more of the same except worse.
Footnote: May-Aug 60 mentions the Francis Gary Powers U2 event. In his book , Powers wrote that he took the aerial photos of UK, Fr, Israeli troop deployments for the Suez campaign. He probably operated from Incirlik Air Base, Turkey.
Kol tuv,
BobW
Posted by: BobW on June 9, 2005 02:28 AM
2.
Felix Quigley
said:
Bob I cannot speak about Powers, there is mystery as to how he survived etc. But a big issue here is the role of the Soviet Union in its hatred for Israel. Johnson talks about (ie Paul Johnson) when Kruschev denounced Stalin he did not mention anti-semitism and the reason was that he too was a big anti-semite. He refused to allow Jews to return from the concentration camps to their homes in the Ukraine. There is the issue of oil, then there is the issue of this Christian anti-Semitism, crucify him, crucify him, and the two work hand in hand.
Posted by: Felix Quigley on June 9, 2005 02:07 PM
3.
BobW
said:
Shalom Felix,
The Soviet Union and the prior Russia of Czar Nicholas II (Y'makh shma [may his name be blotted out])were one of the worst antiJewish areas in the world. Still, we're dealing with paradoxes, inconsistencies, exceptions, and all the rest.
I know little about Stalin and Khruschev (believe he was Party Secretary of Ukraine). It's not easy to call Stalin pure anti-Jewish. His son and daughter both married Jews. I'm guessing part of the problem was the Russian Orthodox Church as extremely anti-Jewish. One of Stalin's body guards was Jewish; Alexander Contract.
Most definitely oil determines the framework.
Kol tuv,
Bob
Posted by: BobW on June 9, 2005 04:51 PM
4.
Bennett
said:
There are some reviews of Alteras' book which take a more tempered view of Eisenhower's attitude of Israel
Daniel Pipes (http://www.danielpipes.org/article/610)
"Alteras shows in his thoroughly researched and elegantly presented study that the reality of U.S.-Israel relations in the 1950s differed substantially from their image. True, Eisenhower did minimize relations with Israel, but he did not reduce the U.S. commitment to the existence and survival of Israel. Even more striking, Alteras argues that "if the Eisenhower administration was less free with pro-Israeli declarations [than the Truman administration], it was more forthcoming with pro-Israel deeds" (shades of George Bush!)[note: he's referring to Bush Sr.]."
University Press of Florida--which published the book (http://www.upf.com/book.asp?id=ALTERF93)
"He (Alteras) indicates that although Eisenhower at times questioned the wisdom of Truman's decision to recognize the Jewish state, Eisenhower never tampered with that decision or with the U.S. commitment to Israel's survival."
Posted by: Bennett on June 9, 2005 11:32 PM
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Eisenhower and Israel, and the relevant lessons for today - Parts 4 and 5 of 5
Table of contents
1. Introduction and summary LINK
2. January 1953 - October 1956 (from Eisenhower's inauguration to the Sinai War) LINK
3. October 1956 - January 1961 - (from the Sinai War to the end of Eisenhower's term) LINK
4. A list of selected world events that occurred during Eisenhower's administration LINK
5. Eisenhower, Nixon regret - when it's too late LINK
4. A list of selected world events that occurred during Eisenhower's administration
Reading how obsessively Eisenhower-Dulles tried to micro-manage the Israel-Arab conflict, one might be led to the conclusion that nothing else of significance occurred during the Eisenhower administration. Nothing is further from the truth.
Overall, such mega trends as the Cold War and decolonization of Asia and Africa were in progress. At the top of the agenda were such crucial questions as the future of Germany, Berlin and Austria - still occupied when Eisenhower began his term - the future of NATO, disarmament and detente.
Among the specific events that took place at the time were the death of Stalin and the subsequent changes in Soviet leadership (March 1953); strikes and insurrection in East Germany (June 1953); the end of the Korean War (July 1953); the USSR announcement that she has developed the H-Bomb (August 1953); riots in Trieste (September-November 1953); the cease-fire agreement signed by France and the Vietmin (July 1954); fire exchanges between China and Formosa (September 1954); Germany becoming an independent state and member of NATO, and the USSR establishing the Warsaw Pact (May 1955); the fall of Peron in Argentina (September 1955); attempts to settle the East-West disputes in meetings of the four major powers (Geneva, October 1955); Anti-government uprisings in Hungary and Poland - especially in Poznan (June 1956); Hungarian anti-Soviet revolt (October 1956); official annexation of Kashmir by India, in violation of UN resolutions (January 1957); Sputnik and the space race (October 1957); A Tibetan revolt against the Chinese occupation (March 1959); War between China and India (October 1959); US-France dispute about NATO (December 1959); riots in S Korea against Singman (Syngman) Rhee (April 1960), The crisis of the U2 piloted by Francis Gary Powers (May to August 1960); the Castro subversion in Guatemala and Nicaragua (November 1960); the Communist invasion in Laos, the Lomumba crisis in the Congo, and the US breaking off relations with Cuba (January 1961).
One has to wonder about the dedication of the Eisenhower-Dulles Goliath who, in the midst of all this international turmoil, found the time, energy and resources to clobber one little David.
5. Eisenhower, Nixon regret - when it's too late
There are two indispensable sources that report about the after-the-fact regrets that both Eisenhower and Nixon (as Vice President at the time) showed with regard to forcing Israel, France and the UK to withdraw from Egypt.
The first of these sources is Nixon's own memoirs. The relevant passage, written in first person by Nixon himself, reads as follows:
Quoted from p. 179 of
Nixon, Richard. The Memoirs of Richard Nixon. New York: Grosset and Dunlap, 1978.
The second source is the "authorized biography" of Max Fisher. The relevant text is quoted below in full, to preempt the accusation of "quoting out of context". The setting was a meeting Max Fisher held with Eisenhower shortly before Eisenhower died:
Quoted from pages xviii to xix of:
Golden, Peter. Quiet Diplomat - A biography of Max M. Fisher. New York: Cornwall Books, 1992.
It would be useful for the sake of Israel and the West if the current Eisenhower would reflect on these regrets before he, too, blunders.
Posted by Joseph Alexander Norland at June 9, 2005 08:03 AM