9. Nasser
Nasser was a president of Egypt that came to power in 1952, overthrowing the Egyptian monarchy and getting rid of British influence in Egypt. He continued to drift away from the west, nationalizing key assets like the Suez canal, and because of his refusal to cooperate with the States, the U.S. government withdrew their promise to fund the construction of a key dam in Egypt. But the Americans came to the rescue of the Egyptians during the Suez Crisis, where the French, English, and Israelis tried to invade Egypt after they had nationalized the Suez Canal. After this however, relations with the Americans began to deteriorate. Nasser just wasn’t going to take orders from the US, and that was a problem. There were assassination and coup attempts from Middle Eastern countries that were supported by the United States. In 1967, the Soviet Union warned Nasser that Israel would soon attack Syria. Nasser was confident that both the United States and Russia would come to his aid if a conflict began. However, this time the United States seemed to be more on the side of Israel. There have been allegations that the US helped Israel with military equipment and even ground troops, but they have never been confirmed. What is clear, however, is that America ceased funding Egypt by 1965, and were not enthusiastic about helping their country when the Israelis invaded.
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