Ch 15Sec 4

Eisenhower’s Cold War Policies

The Election of 1952• Truman was tired, and was not very sure that he

would even win if he ran for President again• Democrats then selected Adlai Stevenson, and he

had no chance against the Republican selection of Dwight Eisenhower

Eisenhower’s Ideas… • Ike believed that by developing

more technologically advanced ways of deliver a nuclear bomb the US could actually intimidate and Soviets and prevent war

• Ike also like the idea of using the CIA to prevent the spread of communism instead of a large military force

More Bang for the Buck???• Ike had a huge role in WWII, and he also understood

what that type of war costs • Ike believed that the US should not try to develop

and maintain a huge standing army, which costs a lot of money, but we should be read to use the nuclear bomb

More Bang for the Buck???• Ike knew that the US could not fight small,

expensive, and unpopular wars like Korea every time communism popped up somewhere

• The new policy became “massive retaliation,” which meant that if Russia tried to expand anywhere we would just blow them up with so many nukes it would be ridiculous

• Having more nukes and a smaller army allowed Ike to cut military spending by $16 billion, and he increased the number of bombs from 1,000 to 18,000 in just 8 years

Brinkmanship • The fact that Ike was so ready to threaten nuclear

war to maintain peace scared may people • Ike was defended by his very successful Secretary of

State John Dulles, who used the term “brinkmanship” = a willingness to go to the brink of nuclear war to prevent actual war

Ike Ends the Korean War • While he was running for

President, Ike told the nation that if he was elected, he would end the increasingly unpopular Korean War

• Upon winning the election, Ike went to Korea and saw that the war was costing too many lives and not bringing any victories

Ike Ends the Korean War • Ike then quietly hinted to the Chinese that the US

would continue the Korean War “under circumstances of our own choosing” = hinting at nuclear war

• China took the hint, and in 1953 they began negotiating the armistice (cease fire) between North and South Korea

The Taiwan Crisis • Soon after the Korean War,

China set their eyes on Taiwan, which had separated from the communist controlled mainland China years earlier

• China began attacking two of the other small island owned by the Nationalists that had fled there

The Taiwan Crisis

• Ike viewed Taiwan as part of an “anti-Communist barrier” in Asia and wanted to help them, that and he had to help them based on the Truman Doctrine

• Once China began its’ attack, Ike got Congress to authorize him to use the US Navy to defend Taiwan, and he also mentioned to the Chinese that he would use nuclear weapons to stop any invasion, China soon backed down…

The Suez Crisis • The US’s stance in the Middle East was to just

prevent the Arab nations from aligning with the Soviets

• To help get some support and friendship in the regions, Dulles offered to help Egypt build a large dam along the Nile River

• It was a great idea, but Congress would not approve the spending to help Egypt because Egypt had bought weapons off of Communist Czechoslovakia, and then Dulles had to withdraw his offer which upset Egypt

The Suez Crisis • Just one week later, Egyptian

troops took over the Suez Canal and were their plan was to make enough money off the fee for using the canal to pay for their own dam

• The canal had been owned by an Anglo-French company

• Britain and France then sent troops to Egypt, and that was when things started to get crazy

The Soviet Response • Russia then threatened France and Britain with

rocket attacks to support Egypt, and they even offered to send troops to help

• Ike was very angry with France and Britain for invading without talking to the US first

• Ike put the US nuclear forces on high alert and he was fully prepared to retaliate if the Soviets attack Britain or France

• The US eventually convinced France and Britain to call off their invasion

The Result…• This was a huge

political/image victory for the Soviets because they came to the aid of an Arab Nation successfully, and soon after this many Arab Nations began accepting aid from Russia

The US in the Middle East • We had became very dependent on oil from the

Middle East, which forced us to be more interested in the area, so Russia getting their foot in the door was bad

• The US also helped establish the country of Israel as a Jewish homeland after WW2

Covert Operations

• Ike knew that his policy of brinkmanship would not work every time, and for all the others he wanted to us the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency)

• The countries that this usually took place in were poor and under developed countries with farm based economies that blamed the US and old European Imperialism for their problems

Covert Operations • These poor countries looked to the Soviet Union as

a way to develop their countries into industrial economies

• Ike used the CIA as a way to sneak in and replace the anti-American leaders with pro-American ones, or to help finance revolutions

Ike and Iran• Iran’s prime minister, Mohammed Mossadegh, took

control of American and British owned oil operations in Iran in 1953

• Ike feared an alliance/oil deal between Russia and Iran which would further complicate things for Western nations and their oil supplies

Ike and Iran• Ike authorized the support and

finance of a revolution in Iran by the CIA

• The US supported the Shah (Iran’s version of king) and the US lead revolution resulted in the Shah taking power in Iran

• Soon after the Shah took power, Iran signed an agreement giving France, Great Britain, and the US access to Iranian oil production

Ike and Guatemala • Colonel Jacobo Arbenz Guzman (man in charge of

the Guatemalan government) took control of American property in the fruit business

• The US also found out that Guatemala was receiving weapons from communist nations

Ike and Guatemala • Ike then financed a coup to protect US business and

interests in Central America, it also prevented communism from getting a foothold in the area

• It sent a strong message to other countries in the area, and further solidified the US policy of containment

• Coup - sudden, illegal overthrowing of a government by a part of the state establishment — usually the military — to replace the executive branch of the stricken government, either with another civil government or with a military government

Trouble in Eastern Europe • Stalin died in 1953, and by 1956 Nikita Khrushchev

came out on top as the leader of the Soviet Union• That same year Khrushchev gave a secret speech

that criticized Stalin and emphasized different ways for Russia to build a communist society

Trouble in Eastern Europe • The CIA got a copy of the speech and had it

broadcasted in Eastern Europe• This upset many of the nations and it made them

further despise the Soviets and communism • Hungary broke out into revolution, and Russia sent

in troops and tanks to brutally crush the rebellion

The Eisenhower Doctrine • After the Suez “incident,” Russia offered

more and more help to countries like Egypt in the Middle East, and then the idea started that all Arab Nations should unite into one country

• Ike got worried and asked congress for the ability to use the US Military to defend any Middle Eastern nations against communism

• Congress gave him this power and it became known as the Eisenhower Doctrine

The Eisenhower Doctrine• One year later Ike got to use it• Ike feared that Egypt and Russia would start a

revolution in Lebanon (like the US did in Iran and Guatemala) after rebels took over Iraq

• Ike sent US troops to Lebanon to ensure that the nation remained stable and out of Russian control (just in our control)

Sputnik • In 1957, the Russians

launched Sputnik, it was the first manmade object to orbit the Earth

• Khrushchev started off saying that communism and capitalism could coexist, but after Sputnik he became very confident and then stated that communism would over take capitalism

Brinkmanship Works Again!!!• Later that year, Khrushchev demanded that he US

withdraw from West Berlin• Dulles denied Khrushchev’s request and said that if

we were threatened in Berlin, NATO would respond with military force

• Khrushchev backed down, and the US forces remained

Ike and Khrushchev • In 1959, Ike invited Khrushchev

to the US, and after the success of their meeting, they set up a summit in Paris to cover important issues

• Before the summit began in 1960, an American U-2 spy plane was shot down

• Ike lied and said it was a weather plane off course, and then Khrushchev said he had the pilot: Francis Powers

U-2

NOT

Ike and Khrushchev • Khrushchev then called off the summit in Paris

because of the spy plane incident, and the US and Soviet tensions continued

Ike on his way out…• When Ike delivered his farewell address after 8

years as president, he had one memorable warning, and that was about the threat of the military-industrial complex (the relation between companies, politicians, and the military when it comes to proving the military with supplies and weapons)

Ike on his way out…• Ike’s last message was that he regretted leaving the

presidency without establishing a “lasting peace”• Ike knew that the Cold War was nowhere near

being over, and the US – Soviet chess game would continue