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MA S SIV E R  E T  AL IA  T I  ON


 * Eisenhower fought the cold war by increasing the united states nuclear arsenal and using threat of nuclear war to end conflicts in Korea, Taiwan, and Suez.**
 * President Eisenhower believed that he could control communism and prevent war with developed technology to deliver nuclear weapons, making it possible to secure american bases.**

The Eisenhower administration had 2 significant objectives at the council on foreign relations on January 12, 1954: -avoid land war in Asia -avoid cheap red ink that would result from huge amounts of conventional forces

so the Eisenhower administration solution went to massive retaliation.

John Foster Dulles characterizes of the united states nuclear policy:

"… to depend primarily upon a great capacity to retaliate, instantly, by means and at places of our own choosing. Now the Department of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff can shape our military establishment to fit what is our policy, instead of having to try to be ready to meet the enemy’s main choices. That permits of a selection of military means instead of a multiplication of means. As a result, it is now possible to get, and share, more basic security at less cost."

http://krepon.armscontrolwonk.com/archive/2436/massive-retaliation

then after massive retaliation was announced the administration realized that an all or nothing approach wasn't really helpful, and nuclear weapons made a poor substitute for military equipment and other states had dilemmas with relying on massive retaliation.

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Brinkmanship was called by critics because of the willingness to go to the brink of war to force he other side to back down, the downside of brinkmanship was argued to be very dangerous though. because of Eisenhower's willingness to threaten nuclear war to maintain peace worried others, but because of John Foster Dulles (U.S secretary of state under Eisenhower), the dominant figure in the nations foreign policy in the 1950's, strongly defended his approach. during several crisis president Eisenhower felt compelled to threaten nuclear war.

Ta iw an  new crisis had risen after the korean war ended, communists had taken power in china and the nationalists still controlled Taiwan with other islands along china's coast. in the fall of 1954, china threatened to seize two of the islands because Eisenhower saw Taiwan as a part of the "anti-communist barrier" it needed to be protected no matter what it took. Eisenhower asked Congress to authorize the chinese that any attack on Taiwan would be resisted by the US forces and would use nuclear weapons to stop an invasion. soon afterward, china backed down.