The Economist

A misstep from a usually reliable and insightful publication. In the July 29th edition of The Economist the article "An Affair to Remember" chronicles the Suez Crisis of 1956 attempting to briefly summarize and explain the significance of the event and what it spawned. In characterizing America's withdrawal of its offer to help finance the construction of the Aswan Dam, the author states, "John Foster Dulles, the American secretary of state, thought the dam would place too much strain on the resources of newly independent Egypt." The article makes no mention of the fact that the United States was displeased that Nasser had recently completed an arm's deal with Communist Czechoslovakia and had officially recognized the People's Republic of China. This was international Cold War incentive politics at its best.

The article however is thoughtful and attempts to paint the crisis as one of the many events that ultimately lead to the American hegemonic system and the current geopolitical structure in the broader Middle East. The final quote is telling: "Instead of saying that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it, George Santayana might have better said that those who misinterpret the past are condemned to bungle the present."