ABSTRACT

PRESIDENT NASSER was not informed of the extent of the damage caused by the Israeli air strike until late on the afternoon of 5 June. Confronted by military catastrophe Nasser decided to accuse the British and the Americans of helping the Israeli attack. The skill with which the attack had been executed, the fact that the Israelis flew in over the longer Mediterranean route and the apparent massive strength of the attack may well have convinced Nasser that the attack was carried out in concert with the Americans and the British. The seeming determination of Johnson and Wilson in the days before the war to aid Israel only increased the feeling of collusion in Arab circles. Memories of Suez were never far from the mind of the Egyptian President. King Hussein, who had joined the attack on Israel under the mistaken assumption that Egypt still had an air force, was contacted to back up the Egyptian claim. The conversation was intercepted by the Israelis and demonstrates that Nasser had no real proof of any collusion.1 Despite this, he decided to broadcast the claims over Cairo Radio and break relations with the United States.