In cold war in Southeast Asia when in July 1953, Eisenhower fulfilled a campaign promise to bring the Korean War to an end. The sudden death of Stalin in March and the rapid rise of more moderate Soviet leaders contributed to the resolution of this conflict. The US had also began providing military aid to support France, which was trying to retain control of its colony, Vietnam. When an international conference divided Vietnam into a Communist north and an anti-Communists south, the US provided aid to South Vietnam, but right now the US resisted greater involvement. In the Middle East, the Cold War was also played out. In the 1930s and 1940s, the Holocaust had forced many Jews to seek safety in Palestine, the Biblical home of the Jewish people, now controlled by the British. Calls for a Jewish state intensified. In 1947, the British turned the question over to the UN, which created two states in the area, one Jewish and one Arab. In May 1948, the Jews in Palestine proclaimed the new nation of Israel. Israel's Arab neighbors attacked the Jewish state in 1948, Israel repelled the Arab assault, and the UN mediated new borders. As Arab hostility to the idea of a Jewish state continued, the United States supported Israel, while the Soviet backed the Arab. The United States also worked to prevent oil-rich Arab nations from falling under the influence of the Soviet Union. In 1952, a nationalist leader gained control in Iran. The United States backed groups that overthrew the nationalists and restored the pro-American Shah of Iran to power since the United States was fearful that he would be neutral or sympathetic to Communism. Next came the Suez crisis of 1956. When Egypt's ruler sough Soviet support, the United State and Great Britain cut off their aid to Egypt. Nasser responded by seizing the British-owned Suez Canal. In late 1956, British and French forces attacked Egypt to regain control of the canal. To combat further Soviet in...