No, Mister Nasser, I expect you to die

Former British Prime Minister Anthony Eden




Good heavens:

Britain drew up plans to cut the flow of the River Nile to Egypt to force President Gamal Abdel Nasser to give up the Suez Canal in 1956, files reveal.

Military officials believed they could harm agriculture and cut communications by reducing the flow of water, newly-released documents show.

The plan was outlined to Prime Minister Anthony Eden six weeks before British and French forces invaded Egypt.

But it was abandoned because of fears it would trigger a violent backlash.

See, this is what happens when you get too used to being top dog in world affairs. You start thinking you're a James Bond villain.

Now I'm half-expecting the Pentagon to demand protection money from developing countries, in exchange for not turning their giant space lasers on Lagos or Mumbai.