ABSTRACT
As a war waged on two levels, by two declining colonial powers and by a Middle Eastern state, the Suez-Sinai campaign and its relationship to the regional politics of the Middle East should be examined in two contexts. The British-French campaign sought not only to unseat Nasser, but, by so doing, to restructure the political complexion of the Middle East. This raises a question as to what that complexion was in 1956 and in what ways it was altered by the campaign. Israel’s aims were more limited and focused on its leaders’ quest for a swift military victory over Egypt. The failure of Egypt’s Arab allies to join the war facilitated their task. An examination of that failure affords significant insights into the interplay between the Arab-Israeli conflict and the system of inter-Arab relations.
