Chapter 1455 Arab League Meeting

In the fourth Middle East War in history, the Soviet Red Navy entered the Mediterranean Sea, and the U.S. Sixth Fleet appeared in the very famous Mediterranean Sea standoff during the Cold War, which also exceeded the Bay of Bengal standoff during the Indo-Pakistani War.

Alan Wilson sometimes wondered if he had provoked something to make the Royal Navy’s Mediterranean Fleet leave.

It is important to realize that the Mediterranean Fleet is also the second largest fleet in the Royal Navy, after the Home Fleet operating in the Atlantic Ocean, with two of Britain’s largest active aircraft carrier battle groups. If a standoff occurred, it might be possible that the Royal Navy might not be able to hide from it with the United States being adamant about it.

He’s racking his brain over that possibility, preparing to take the opportunity to provoke Yemen. Defending a bit of British presence in the Middle East.

Now that he has received a call from a close ally, the feeling is like a sleepy man being given a pillow, and the Mediterranean fleet, whose main battleships are in the Far East, will be able to stand idly by if another Mediterranean standoff occurs.

Compared to the danger of a confrontation in the Mediterranean, what was the cost of a trip to Japan? The danger is not even on the same level.

“The Vietnam War America’s woeful state was clearly seen by the whole world, and at this time the United States needed the help of its allies; after all, the defense of the free world could not depend on the United States alone. This is the time to reflect the value of Britain, we should not refuse.”

Alan Wilson was righteous, forcefully argued that should correspond to Washington’s appeal to go to the Far East to defend Japan, “When the time comes to talk to the United States about the yen, we are also justified, Japan can’t even defend itself, talk about the value of the yen, it’s all a castle in the air.”

“Indeed.” Harold Wilson immediately expressed his approval, he the prime minister’s reputation is in the financial field that Zurich’s gnomes began, the current British pulling France strongly opposed to Germany and Japan mainly Japan, expanding the weight of the currency share in the financial field.

Look at the Cabinet Secretary said how reasonable, Japan can not even guarantee their own security, but also talk about what in the world financial field to occupy a place?

“The existence of the Royal Navy is part of the embodiment of British credit.” Alan Wilson immediately turned to Defense Secretary Denis Healey.

“It’s only right.” Defense Minister Dennis Healey proudly puffed out his chest, other times you can think about saving money, but in the matter of the value of the pound, if he opens his mouth to oppose, the one who opposes is the current Prime Minister Harold Wilson.

Defense Minister Denis Healy compressed expenditure ideas, Alan Wilson certainly did not forget, “We will be in the telegram to the Mediterranean fleet, implying less fuel, able to make it to Yokosuka on the line. As for coming back, I’m sure the U.S. Navy won’t begrudge the U.S. Navy a bit of fuel money after Britain has done such a great favor.”

Alan Wilson even hoped that the two carrier battle groups to reach Yokosuka oil tanks have dried up, gripping the wool of the U.S. Naval Base, but also to save some of the Navy’s expenses.

After some persuasion, the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Defense have no problem, Alan Wilson said he would give Washington, a warm and positive response, in the U.S. because of the Vietnam War and lost its former glory, the Royal Naval Conference practical action to prove that the British and U.S. special relationship is unbreakable.

No one can disrespect the U.S. Navy, and although the U.S. Navy was about to face the embarrassment of getting smaller by the year, at this point, with 5.7 million tons of tonnage, it was still more than twice the size of the Royal Navy. And that’s counting a bunch of battleships in the Royal Pacific Fleet that almost never leave port.

Received such a reply, I believe that at this time deep in the middle of the Watergate scandal, and the judiciary because of the tapes of Nixon, will certainly rise in the heart of a warm current.

Alan Wilson in fact does not know, is not the Soviet Union is deliberately stirring up trouble in the Far East, to divert the attention of the Middle East or more direction, but he took the Soviet Union is playing a big game, and he felt that this is profitable for Britain, jumped down the Soviet Union dug the hole with glee.

The Mediterranean Fleet was the fleet in which Field Marshal Mountbatten had served before returning to London, and a number of the generals in it were old men of his father-in-law’s, and Pamela Mountbatten knew some of them well enough to offer to help embellish the wording in the telegram, “But will it weaken the Royal Navy in the Mediterranean.”

“It will, but Anglo-American relations are superior to all foreign relations.” Alan Wilson said eloquently, “Although we are not happy on all levels with the United States, it is still important to help the United States.”

The Mediterranean Fleet, which had received the telegram from home, immediately began to move, the two heavy carrier battle groups at Malta and Gibraltar, pulled anchor and set sail, and stated that they would carry one-way fuel as ordered in the telegram, and replenish it on arrival at Yokosuka.

“But why do that?” Pamela Mountbatten wondered, 10,000 kilometers all the way to save a little money on fuel?

“Maybe the American side will see that the Royal Navy is stretched to maintain the current fleet size.” Alan Wilson revealed a mouthful of white teeth, “Can’t help for nothing can we? It’s not too much to ask for a shipload of fuel, is it? It’s not like the Royal Navy has nuclear powered carriers, we’re all conventionally powered.”

Moreover, really appeared in the Mediterranean Sea confrontation, the Mediterranean fleet of the backbone of the force, because of the lack of fuel for a moment and a half will not be able to come back is also absolutely reasonable, right.

“Otherwise, dear how can you make money.” The corners of Pamela Mountbatten’s mouth quirked up slightly as she complimented the man who was calculating to the bone.

“You can’t say that, in this field, we still can’t match the United States, hundreds of billions of dollars have been thrown right into the Vietnam battlefield.” Alan Wilson expressed modesty and could not be compared to the United States.

After replying to the initiative that Britain would help the United States to stabilize the situation in the Far East, confronted with the question of whether the Prime Minister would have to articulate to the President of the United States that the special relationship between Britain and the United States was unbreakable.

Alan Wilson, on the other hand, suggested that if he had to do so, to express his support for Nixon in a private capacity, because now that Nixon was in trouble, it would not be appropriate to do so in the name of the British Prime Minister.

“Nixon’s tug of war with the justice system looks like it’s going to be a while!” Alan Wilson spoke up, “We don’t yet know whether Nixon will get over the hump, although there has not been a precedent of impeachment for a US president, this possibility is not completely non-existent, and the problem that is near and dear to our hearts is left to the Arab conference. The situation in the Middle East has shown some tension since last year, and it is up to Britain to try to keep the peace in the world’s oil depots.”

Naturally it’s the same old story, calling for the two state territories recognized by the 1948 UN regulations, which means that Israel still has to withdraw from the Palestinian territories occupied in the first Middle East war.

Truth be told there is absolutely no way to do that from Israel’s point of view, because while Israel occupies fifty-seven percent of the land according to the 1948 Line of Control, the Gaza area and the West Bank are almost a stone’s throw away, just enough to allow Israel to build a road.

According to that kind of division, Israel could at any time be cut into two disconnected lands, north and south, which would be almost an enclave if not an enclave.

And Jerusalem, according to the division at that time, had nothing to do with Israel, but was purely a city in the hinterland of Palestine.

On August 14, a meeting of the Arab League was held at its headquarters in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, where Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Yemen, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco, and Libya gathered to open this meeting of Arab League heads of state.

The presiding officer was the King of Egypt, now twenty years old, Fouad II, presiding over the meeting as king, at a time when he was in power just a short time ago, and the Egyptian version of the two dowagers and the ghosts of the Sixth were still in control of the dynasty.

But in this meeting of the Arab League, Fouad II is still quite striking, the current king is not married, twenty years of age in the life of the sunrise, so that some of the Arab heads of state some calculations.

In a sense this Arab League meeting, in fact, there is such a hint of embarrassment, because the name of the leader of Yemen is Nasser, once a colonel of the Kingdom of Egypt, and the leader of the Egyptian Free Officers, an organization that has been absolutely banned.

But since it was a meeting of the heads of the Arab League, Fouad II could not keep the former rebel of the past, the leader of Yemen today, from coming.

I believe that even Nasser himself, did not think that he would one day, in such a form, such an identity, back to his own service for most of his life in the country, sitting in front of the king, Nasser also participated in the first Middle East war, is the Egyptian military war hero at the time.

The meeting is actually very clear can be divided, republican and monarchical system of country division, Sudan, Syria and Yemen are the Soviet Union armed republics. And Egypt, Iraq and Jordan are British-backed monarchies, as for the pro-American family Saudi Arabia, because there is no Iran in the Arab League, so for the time being, Saudi Arabia is still a small transparency.

There is even a rumor already circulating in Egyptian folklore that after Egypt will take back the occupied territories in Palestine, the royal family will consider reforming the constitutional monarchy and handing over most of the power to the parliament.

This, of course, was unleashed by Britain, which is not a member of the Arab League, but whose heart is already with the Arab countries, and just a few days ago the Royal Navy’s Mediterranean Fleet carrier battle group, which has just passed through the Suez Canal into the Indian Ocean, went to the Far East to defend the special Anglo-American relationship.

The leader of the Arab Baath Party in Syria, Hafez al-Assad, and the King of Jordan, Hussein Ibn Talal, came together to take out a plan about changing the course of the Jordan River to keep it out of Israel’s way, and Hafez al-Assad had already received Soviet diplomats in Damascus prior to his arrival, and the Soviets spelled out the dangers of the Golan Heights.

Hafez al-Assad had also received warnings of the dangers of war from the Soviet side and understood the importance of the Golan Heights, and only after making his preparations did he come to Cairo.

The entire meeting was a heated discussion, with all the Arab countries expressing their views, demonstrating the unity of the Arab world, even the Saudis.