Suez fifty years on, Doha and the Lebanon

The Suez crisis was used by my father as an opportunity to introduce me to the editorial and opinion pages of the national press, a daily habit that has continued thereafter. He declined to offer his own opinion on the rights and wrongs of that matter, leaving me to form my own view. I noted however that from that point on The Observer ceased to arrive at the house with the other normal Sunday broadsheets. Suez was undoubtedly the end of an era for Britain and France and the beginning of a new role for the USA. Israel seems to continue as possibly the main victim . The USA, quick to cite overwhelming economic justification for its own operations in Panama decades later, is today saddled with the consequences of its opposition to the re-taking of the Suez Canal following its nationalisation by President Nasser. My own first transit of the canal some five years later was under the guidance of a Russian pilot. I believed that the USA was wrong, but we must now live in the world their then high moral tone created! The collapse of the Doha round of trade talks might seem unconnected, but the Suez crisis must have had a positive influence in the enthusiasm in France for the Common Market and was surely instrumental in Britain's eventual entanglement. The failure of the latest trade round (read The Guardian report of today from here) must mark the biggest yet failure of the EU in its principal task as a trading block. Can it survive this latest blow? EU federalists have been desperately seeking areas other than trade for the non-democratic and corporatist conglomerstate to advance in spite of the democratically expressed opposition of the only voters whose opinion has been sought. The EU rapid reaction force is one such area. Tony Blair has suggested an international peace-keeping force be introduced into South Lebanon. The Israelis are reported that they would not object to an EU force filling that role. Given that it took months for NATO to agree the terms of engagement for such a force in Afghanistan, is this the EU's chance of salvaging its future? I hope not but it will be interesting to see if they even try.