After eight years of a tense peace, war came suddenly again to the Middle East in October 1956.  This episode answers why, exploring the deeper history behind the building of the Suez Canal from 1859-69, the origins of British colonialism in the region and the rise of various anti-colonial Egyptian movements such as Wafd and the Muslim Brotherhood.  We also go into detail about the meteoric rise of Gamal Abdel Nasser, whose efforts to reshape Egyptian and Middle Eastern politics played a significant role in the crisis.  Finally, the episode also discusses the perspectives and motivations of Israeli, Palestinian, French and British political actors that led directly to war, including: Palestinian Fedayeen attacks, Ariel Sharon's notorious "Unit 101," Anthony Eden and Operation Musketeer and more. 

Note: this is the first of two episodes on Suez.  Our second episode will discuss the course of the war itself.

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