i.knw.whts.gd

The “New Look” in Foreign Policy 
President Eisenhower decreased spending on American conventional forces because he believed that defense costs would imperil the economic stability of the nation. Instead, he supplied arms to America’s allies and backed them up with a huge nuclear arsenal. The idea was to create a maximum deterrent at a reduced cost. America’s destructive power became the most awesome in history, even as the Soviets developed vast nuclear capabilities of their own. With only nuclear power as a deterrent and few conventional forces, the administration’s promise of liberating the people of Eastern European nations became impossible. The use of nuclear weapons in an attempt to roll back the iron curtain was out of the question. 

Applying Containment to Vietnam
Like Truman before him, Eisenhower remained committed to containing communism in Asia. He supported the French in their colonial war against Communist rebels in Vietnam. The fall of Vietnam to communism, Eisenhower believed, would trigger a “domino effect” in Asia. Vietnam did eventually fall, leaving the United States to support the division of Vietnam (as in Korea), to enlist more Asian allies (through the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization [SEATO]), and to send weapons and advisers to South Vietnam. Frustrated by the unfulfilled promise of free elections and by the repressive regime of Ngo Dinh Diem, South Vietnamese rebels and peasants supported military raids from the North into the South. When John F. Kennedy became president in 1961, the Vietnam problem was still unresolved. 

Interventions in Latin America and the Middle East
While President Eisenhower continued to support friendly anti-Communist governments in Asia, he aimed to destroy unfriendly governments in Latin America and the Middle East that appeared too leftist and threatened U.S. economic interests. For instance, he authorized the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to orchestrate the overthrow of the leftist government of Guatemala. Then, witnessing the ouster of Cuba’s pro-American dictator and the rise of rebel leader Fidel Castro, Eisenhower developed a plan to train Cuban exiles for an invasion of Cuba. Using the CIA to create behind-the-scenes friction, Eisenhower supported efforts to remove the left-leaning leader of Iran and reestablish the power of the pro-Western shah of Iran. Eisenhower made it clear that the United States would combat communism in the Middle East while attempting to foster friendlier relations with the Arab nations. To his dismay and frustration, he found those countries increasingly nationalistic and unwilling to align themselves solely with one superpower. In March 1957, Congress passed a joint resolution approving economic and military aid to any Middle Eastern nation threatened by anti-Western pressure; under this “Eisenhower Doctrine,” the United States sent aid to Jordan in 1957 and troops to Lebanon in 1958. 

The Nuclear Arms Race 
Although America’s nuclear arsenal increased dramatically in power and size during the 1950s, Dwight Eisenhower attempted to reduce superpower tensions. He met with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev twice—first in Geneva in 1955 and then in Paris in 1960—in an attempt to reduce tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union and promote a spirit of conciliation. Although no significant agreement came from the Geneva meeting or from the Paris conference (which was derailed when an American U-2 spy plane was shot down over Soviet territory), both countries benefited from the spirit of accommodation. Competition between the superpowers continued, however, as the Soviets launched their first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and the world’s first satellite into space. This Soviet success prompted the United States to devote more money to space research and development, create the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and increase federal aid to education. Americans grew increasingly concerned, however, about the precariousness of their lives in the face of potential nuclear devastation, and as he left office, Eisenhower warned of the growing influence of the military-industrial complex in American government and life.