Eisenhower, Suez Crisis, and Lessons for Today

Abilene, Kan. - The public is invited to join the April Lunch & Learn program on Thursday, April 25, at 12 p.m. noon central time at the Eisenhower Presidential Library. The hybrid program will be held in the Library building indoor courtyard and online via YouTube Livestream. Guests are encouraged to arrive by 11:45 a.m. A light box-lunch will be provided on a first come, first served basis.

Guest speaker Dr. Mark Bucknam will join us virtually from the National War College located in Washington, DC. Professor Bucknam will talk about President Eisenhower and the 1956 Suez crisis in context of the Cold War. Coming in the final days of Eisenhower’s reelection campaign, the Suez crisis also coincided with a Soviet crackdown in Hungary and turmoil across North Africa and the Levant. Eisenhower strove to restrain Israel, Britain and France as they mobilized for war. He took a principled stand against military aggression by Israel and America’s allies despite warnings it could cost him at the polls. President Eisenhower’s handling of the Suez crisis powerfully illustrates his use of moral persuasion and holds valuable lessons for political leaders and statesmen of today.

Dr. Bucknam is a professor of National Security Strategy at the National War College, where he has served as a core course director. Additionally he has served as Director of Research and Writing as well as Department Chair. Prior to joining the National War College, he spent nearly four years at the Pentagon on the staff of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, serving as the Director for Campaign and Contingency Plans. In 2012, Dr. Bucknam retired as a colonel from the U.S. Air Force after 30 years of active duty service. He is the author of several journal articles on national security strategy and policy and of one book, Responsibility of Command, on the political-military dynamics behind decisions to use military force.

The 2024 Waging Peace program series is made possible courtesy of the Eisenhower Foundation with generous support from the Jeffcoat Memorial Foundation.