August 3, 1956
USA AGAINST SUEZ WAR: London, 3 – The United States, which until now had been supporting or at least tolerating the way Great Britain and France have reacted [to developments in the Suez Canal], have now clarified their stance by opposing any violent action against Egypt over the nationalization of the Suez Canal by the president of the Egyptian Republic, Gamal Abdel Nasser. While France and particularly Britain are persisting with the same intransigent stance, indicating they have not ruled out the use of weapons, US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, who has just returned to Washington from London, addressed the American people on television in the presence of President Dwight Eisenhower and other members of the US government. He said that «certain people» had recommended an immediate act of force by the governments (of Britain and France) which are most directly involved. Nevertheless, he added, this would be contrary to the principles of the United Nations Charter and would undoubtedly lead to widespread hostilities that would threaten world peace.
