In January 1968, British Prime Minister Harold Wilson shook the political status quo by announcing that, by the end of 1971, the UK would end its presence east of Suez. The US had not been consulted in advance and was deeply concerned that the British withdrawal would open the doors for Soviet entry into the oil-rich region. US Secretary of State Dean Rusk is said to have admonished Foreign Secretary George Brown by saying, ‘Be British, George, be British, how can you betray us?’3 The
