The United Nations hurriedly called an emergency debate in which the US government, infuriated by Eden's failure to inform them of the intended invasion, led the condemnation of Israel and her two allies. Deprived of US backing, Britain used its veto for the first time to defeat a UN resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire. Besides resentment at not being previously informed of Britain's intentions, what angered the USA was the fear that Eden's actions would allow the Soviet Union to seize the initiative. And, indeed, after some days' delay while it dealt with the Hungarian Uprising, the Soviet Union made a dramatic move. On 5 November, it issued a diplomatic note to Britain, condemning the Anglo-French invasion of Egypt and warning that the USSR was prepared to use nuclear missiles against the cities of the Western invaders.
It is unlikely that the USSR would have risked carrying out its threat, but it was one of a number of considerations that combined to break Eden's resolve, namely:
• the opposition of the USA, which feared the tripartite attack would allow the USSR to exploit the situation to gain influence in the Middle East
• UN condemnation of the action
• deep divisions within Britain over it
• opposition to it from the majority of members of the British Commonwealth
• a devastating withdrawal of their British funds by foreign investors, which threatened to leave Britain bankrupt.
Faced with such factors, Britain accepted the UN demand for disengagement and Israel, France and Britain began withdrawing their invading forces.
World History
