"On the subject of the Strait of Tiran, this excerpt is in reference to 1967, but it is equally applicable to 1956" _ (CarolC)

Eh, no it doesn't. In reasoned arguement, or discussion, one sets the precedent for the other. So just to make sure that you understand which way things go, what happened in 1956 sets international precedent for 1967 - Not the other way round.

The precedent set by the United Nations was that international waterways cannot be closed by any nation at will, to do so is an act of war because it threatens the trade and well being of the nation affected. Adjudged by the United Nations as International waterways were The Suez Canal AND the Straits of Tiran. I couldn't give a flying toss what the Egyptians claimed as being territorial waters it wouldn't hold up in any international court for one bloody minute. That is why the UN ruled the way it did and proved the casus belli in 1967 - when the Egyptians did exactly the same thing again - As I said CarolC, these Arab chaps seem to be on one hell of a slow learning curve.

I can remember my father once explaining at great length that at the time we are talking about there was one thing you could depend upon, "There was not one single international situation anywhere in the world, no matter how bad, that after the intervention of John Foster Dulles wasn't ten times worse" and in retrospect that was a downright, and gross, underestimation. Had the US backed both Britain and France in 1956 there never would have been a "Middle-East Conflict".

So the US and the UK reneged on the deal to finance the Aswan Dam did they CarolC? Loans of that magnitude normally come with a catch, this one was no exception. The USA, Britain and the World Bank were to help finance construction with a loan of USD $270 million in return for Nasser's leadership on resolving the Arab-Israeli Conflict. However the US cancelled the offer in July 1956 as part of the secret US 'OMEGA' policy to marginalize Nasser after it became clear to the US exactly how Nasser intended to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict. That plus the secret Egyptian arms agreement with Czechoslovakia and Egyptian recognition of the People's Republic of China are cited as being possible additional reasons for cancelling the arrangement.

Joe Stalin and Soviet Russia supplied arms to the Israeli cause during the War of Independence in the period after the British left until June 1948, thereafter they supplied the Arabs, which, unfortunately for your arguement, explains why in 1956 it was the Egyptians running around in T-34/85's, while the Israeli's used French and American armour.

Your poor, down-trodden, hard done by "Palestinians" collectively have got to be largest assembly of complete and utter tossers on the face of this earth, given their track record and their choices of course of action to follow and their "leadership", both of which have proved to be catastrophic for them and the region in which they live. The cause was founded on a lie and has continued in true Kindergarden tit-for-tat bloodshed and mayhem ever since.