Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: For the first time in over two months, close to 87 aid trucks enter Gaza.
United States: One of the two people killed in the Washington shooting is believed to be an Israeli embassy employee.
United States: Two people killed in shooting near the Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.
Occupied Palestine: A fire broke out in the courtyard of Al-Awda Hospital in the Tal al-Zaatar neighborhood in northern Gaza after IOF fired directly at diesel tanks.
Israeli ambulance: A settler was injured while running to shelter after a rocket was fired from Yemen, and the sirens were activated.
Occupied Palestine: The IOF besieges Al-Awda Hospital in Tal al-Zaatar, north of Gaza, with 160 people inside, including medical personnel and wounded.
Occupied Palestine: IOF: A missile was detected and launched from Yemen, and air defense systems were activated.
Lebanese Health Ministry: One martyr, one wounded in IOF strike on Yater, South Lebanon.
Palestinian sources: Arab-European committee including 30 ambassadors, consuls came under fire by occupation forces in Jenin Refugee Camp, northern West Bank.
Pope Leo XIV: I renew my heartfelt appeal to allow the entry of sufficient humanitarian aid [into Gaza] and to put an end to the hostilities

UK planned over 40 coup bids, including bid to overthrow Abdel Nasser

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Declassified UK
  • 14 Jan 2023 20:44
  • 7 Shares
5 Min Read

These 'third-world' nationalist forces were identified by the UK as an extension of the 'Soviet threat', as well as an occurrence of Cold War dynamics that needed to be reverted. 

  • x
  • In this June 18, 1956 file photo, Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser waves as he moves through Port Said, Egypt, during a ceremony in which Egypt formally took over control of the Suez Canal from Britain (AP Photo, File)
    In this June 18, 1956 file photo, Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser waves as he moves through Port Said, Egypt, during a ceremony in which Egypt formally took over control of the Suez Canal from Britain (AP Photo, File)

A recent report published by Declassified UK details a somewhat exhaustive timeline of the UK's involvement in plotting coups across the world, both overt and covert, and in most cases conducted with the collaboration of the CIA to depose or assassinate democratically elected leaders.

The report counts a total of 47 coups put into action in 27 different countries since 1945, but the numbers could be higher. 

The point in doing so is obvious: as a former colonial empire, the UK is structurally and historically pre-disposed to impede all signs of democratic and socioeconomic developments across the Global South. 

After WWII, the Soviet Union supported the massive wave of anti-colonial wars to gain national independance. 

These 'third-world' nationalist forces were identified by the UK as an extension of the Soviet threat, as well as an occurrence of Cold War dynamics that needed to be reverted. 

Some of the most prominent coups orchestrated against leaders include the overthrow of democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in Iran in 1953.

They also include the assassination of the former Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Patrice Lumumba who was killed in the most tragic way one could possibly think of.

But the UK did not always succeed in effecting a regime change, as it did in Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, and so many African countries. 

As if this weren't enough, once Gamal Abdel Nasser seized power in a 1952 nationalist revolution, UK clandestine operatives were also busy plotting the ouster and killing of Egypt's president.

Nasser's rise to power posed a threat to both Britain's standing in the Middle East and the stability of the repressive, conservative monarchies that Whitehall, both then and now, was supporting, particularly in the Gulf region. Many of these kingdoms had characteristics of near-medieval times.

For instance, in the 1950s, the British regime tried to draw two consecutive uprisings against the government in Syria - the first in 1956 and the second in 1957 - which were both unsuccessful. 

Read more: Kanaani: West failed to effect regime change in Iran

Another covert operation that foiled was one conducted in 1957 against Indonesia's Sukarno, the leader of the Indonesian struggle for independence from the Dutch colonialists who propelled Indonesia out of morbid poverty.

Related News

Brazil arrests officers convicted of plotting coup, Lula assassination

Venezuela's Maduro says coup d'état attempted after his re-election

Sukarno was ousted a decade later in what appeared to "one of the 20th century’s worst bloodbaths" with the purge of communists and socialists by the Indonesian military under Suharto - an event which was later revealed to have been backed by the UK in 1965-1966.

Other countries which have been targeted during the 1950s and 1960s include Brazil, British Guiana, Egypt, and several countries in the Gulf region. 

One leader took about four decades for the UK to take down, namely Muammar Gaddafi, who nationalized British oil operators as soon as he seized power in 1969. 

After several failed attempts to kill the strongman leader, the UK finally managed to rid of him in 2011 with the assistance of NATO.

Other leaders that were targeted for assassination include Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic in 1992, Ugandan President Milton Obote in 1969, and his successor Idi Amin in the late 1970s.

The list also includes countries of the former Soviet Union, namely Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

It further includes Italy because the Communist Party "looked as if it might win or influence the next government," the report states. 

Read more: Brazil Supreme Court Jan. 8 riots investigations to include Bolsonaro

The most recent coup attempts include failed attempts to depose Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in the early 2010s, as well as several attempts to depose leaders in Latin American countries, namely lithium-rich Bolivia and oil-rich Venezuela.

Venezuela recently joined the ranks of failed coups after Juan Guaido was ousted and his government dissolved.

The report is relevant to the modern context because the West has recently tried to push for regime change in Iran and Peru. 

In the case of Peru, former President Pedro Castillo had charges fabricated against him to justify his impeachment and imprisonment. 

All-in-all, the UK's habits of conducting coups across the Global South is always motivated by strategic interests. These include a wide range of interests but almost always concern the privatization of oil resources. 

In the case where no oil is involved, the UK intervenes to simply ward off the presence of progressive ideologies that strengthen the people against the will of the West. 

Read more: Peru's Boluarte won't step down despite calls for resignation

  • Coup D'etat
  • UK
  • regime change

Most Read

YAF say struck 'Israel's' Ben-Gurion Airport with missiles, drones

YAF say struck 'Israel's' Ben Gurion Airport with missiles, drones

  • MENA
  • 18 May 2025
Israeli media: Yemen may push 'Israel' towards ceasefire in Gaza

Israeli media: Yemen may push 'Israel' towards ceasefire in Gaza

  • MENA
  • 17 May 2025
Martyrs, injuries in violent Israeli bombardment of southern Gaza

Israeli operation fails; IOF launch violent strikes on Gaza

  • Politics
  • 19 May 2025
Rachel Accurso criticized for speaking out on Gaza children crisis

Ms. Rachel accused of antisemitism for speaking out for Gaza children

  • Politics
  • 20 May 2025

Coverage

All
Gaza prevails against genocide

Read Next

All
Gulf investments quietly boosted Elon Musk and family fortunes
US & Canada

Gulf investments quietly boosted Elon Musk and family fortunes

A 3D render of China's planned 'drone mothership' Credit: X/@XH_Lee23
US & Canada

China unveils drone mothership capable of swarm attacks

Relatives of Venezuelan migrants deported by the US to a Salvadoran prison protested outside the UN building in Caracas on April 9, 2025 (AP)
US & Canada

At least 50 migrants deported to El Salvador prison entered US legally

A city bus goes by the historic city of Santiago, Spain during a major power outage across Spain and Portugal on April, 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)
Europe

Spain hit by major phone network outage weeks after nation blackout

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS