Eisenhower 1953-1961

Hungary 1956
1. exposed the weakness of the USA
  1. Hungarian protestors were encouraged by support from Eisenhower and Dulles through Radio Free Europe
    1. They assumed that they would receive US military assistance
      1. In fact, West refused to stop the Red Army's brutal suppression of the rising
        Political and military realities meant that the USA could not intervene to protect Hungary
2. Western reaction was restricted to strong condemnation of the USSR and the U.S. taking 25000 Hungarian refugees
  1. Growing skepticism about the USSR's new mood of accommodation
    1. govt knew that any direct Western involvement in Hungary would almost certainly trigger nuclear war
      1. Hungary revealed that, in practice, the USA could not 'roll back' communism in East Europe
        Containment remained only possible American policy
Eisenhower and Dulles take charge
1. Victory for Eisenhower in 1952 seems to signal start of an uncompromising American approach to superpower relations
  1. E attacked Truman of being 'soft' on communism and rejected containment as 'futile and immoral'
    1. Prior to election, Dulles talked of 'rolling back' communism and securing the 'liberation' of Eastern Europe from Soviet control
      1. Once in office, E and D adopted the 'new look' policy, which emphasised hard line Cold War diplomacy
Why did Eisenhower want better relations with the USSR
1. In public, E stressed the new look policy, but in private he was prepared to act pragmatically to improve relations with the USSR, he did this for the following reasons:
  1. Military background made him strongly aware of the dangers of a nuclear conflict that could 'destroy civilisation'
    1. Was concerned that military spending (12% of GNP in mid 50s) was too high and that it threatened to affect living standards. Better relations with USSR would decrease likelihood of nuclear war and therefore the govt could reduce military spending
      1. U2's showed that USSR was considerably behind in arms race. E knew USSR could not win nuclear war. Gave the US the upper hand in negotiations
        Summary: New look went hand in hand with better relations because by strengthening the USA's position, E hoped to force USSR to negotiate rather than risk war
Key Features of New Look policy on the Cold War
1. Massive Retaliation
  1. Jan 1954, Dulles announced 'Massive retaliatory power' -that the USA would make greater use of nuclear threats and place less reliance on conventional weaponry
    1. Circumstances which the USA would use 'massive retaliation' were kept deliberately vague to put opponents at a disadvantage
2. Brinkmanship
  1. Massive retaliation formed part of Dulles' wider policy of Brinkmanship
  2. instances of US brinkmanship
    1. 1953, US warned China that if Korean war was nor brought to speedy conclusion, it would use nuclear weapons - Armistice was signed shortly after
    2. CCP shelling of Quemoy and Matsy in 1954-5, US issue nuclear threats. Mao's forces stopped their military action
3. Increased use of Covert Operations - 1953 onwards
  1. 1953 CIA operation to ensure that the pro western Pahlavi was installed as Shah of Iran. Success of the operation gave US an ally on the USSR border
  2. 1954 CIA backed coup against the left wing Guatemalan president Guzman
  3. Development of U2 spy planes to aid intelligence gathering
4. Domino Theory
  1. US policy influenced by E's domino theory April 1954
    1. Theory stated that if Vietnam fell to communism, it would be followed in turn by surrounding countries
      1. These concerns prompted the setting up of SEATO - South East Asian Treaty Organisation
        A military alliance between the USA and the countries of South East Asia
5. Eisenhower Doctrine 1957
  1. Committed US economic and military support to protect the independence of any state in the region which was threatened by armed comm aggression
  2. Was designed to halt communist penetration of the Middle East and to stop the oil supplies there falling into hostile hands
Summits
1. Geneva Summit July 1955
2. Paris Summit and U2 spy plane incident May 1960

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