Eisenhower; new policy and new alliances (S2.8) Flashcards
What two leadership changes took place in 1953?
Eisenhower sworn into presidency in January 1953, succeeding Truman
Stalin’s death in March 1953, leading to a joint-leadership between Krushchev and Malenkov (until the end of 1955)
What was the joint leadership of Malenkov and Krushchev called?
A “collective leadership” - two factions struggling for power, with both emerging from Stalinism
What did Malenkov strive for, compared to Krushchev?
Malenkov = “a new course”
Krushchev = “peaceful coexistence”
Both wanted good relations with the West and de-stalinisation
What policy did Eisenhower abandon upon his appointment, and what did he instead employ?
Containment
> Pushed forward a “New Look”; brinkmanship, massive retaliation, ‘domino theory’ and rollback.
Who were the two most influential people behind Eisenhower?
Allen Dulles (Director of the CIA)
John Foster Dulles (JFD) (Secretary of State, 1953-1959)
What did Allen Dulles think about ‘peaceful coexistence’ (Krushchev), and what did the CIA intend to do in the third world?
Uninterested in ‘peaceful coexistence’
> CIA moved to overthrow democratically elected governments in the third world, if they aligned with socialism and/or communism.
What were the changes in the Soviet Union following the death of Stalin?
- Destalinisation took place, with fundamental reforms
- A million prisoners were released from the Gulag within weeks, powers of secret police contained, cultural controls loosened, and improved relations begun (‘controlled liberalisation’)
How did the US respond to changes in the Soviet Union?
US decided to ‘get tough with the Soviets’ and wanted to ‘roll back communism’; Dulles wanted to ‘keep our pressures on’.
What were the four factors which shaped Eisenhower’s ‘New Look’?
- Red Scare
- The need to get tough on communism
- The need to get ‘value for money’ (more affordable attempts)
- The need to build alliances with Cold War partners
When was the NSC 162/2 report made?
October 1953
What did the NSC 162/2 report of October 1953 state?
- Claimed that the USA could deter aggression by displaying its willingness to use nuclear weapons against aggressive Communist states
> Essence of the New Look policy (brinkmanship)
What was rollback?
Rollback was a strategy aimed at actively pushing it back by supporting uprisings or regime changes in communist-controlled areas.
What was brinkmanship?
A strategy designed to convince the opponent that there is a risk of war or actual conflict, showing no sign of backing down, and usually through the use of nuclear weapons.
> Reaching the verge of war without actually engaging in war.
What was ‘domino theory’?
This theory held that if one country fell to communism, neighbouring nations would follow in a domino-like chain reaction.
What was massive retaliation?
Massive retaliation was a military strategy that promised a swift and overwhelming nuclear response to any Soviet aggression, regardless of the scale of the initial attack.
Between 1954 and 1948, what changes did Eisenhower make to the military?
- Cut army personnel by around 1/3
- Shrank the Navy and Marines by 10%
- Spending on defence fell from 2/3 to 1/2 of government expenditure, and dropped 4% in GNP (Gross National Product)
What was the result of a more effective, and more affordable military, through the cultivation of nuclear weapons?
By 1960, the US possessed the capability to devastate the USSR and PRC with nuclear weapons
> Backed up by the CIA’s enhanced capability for intelligence gathering and intervention in third world countries
What was the ‘bomber gap’ rumour, and how were these fears exemplified?
- Spread in 1955
> Put pressure on the Eisenhower administration, as it suggested that the Soviets had a sizeable ‘bomber gap’ on the US
> Fears exemplified through the launch of Sputnik in 1958
Why was great importance placed on the expansion of alliance systems?
Wanted the creation of a global network of alliances, to encircle the USSR/China with pro-Western allies
> Would reduce US presence but retain fundamental US objectives
What was the ‘nuclear umbrella’?
Strategy was based on the US providing a ‘nuclear umbrella’, ensuring no ally would be endangered, acting as a form of collective deterrence.
> One key idea that propelled the creation of alliance systems.
When was SEATO founded?
September 1954
What was SEATO?
South-East Asia Treaty Organisation
> Included UK/US/FR/AU/NZ; Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand,
- Intended to contain communist powers and protect Laos/South Vietnam (former French powers)
When was CENTO founded?
Founded by the Baghdad Pact of February 1955 with US support
What was CENTO?
Central Treaty Organisation
> Included Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey, and the UK
> US supported and officially joined in 1958
Committed the nations to mutual cooperation, protection, and non-intervention into eachothers affairs
> Goal was to contain the USSR on their south-western frontier
> Largely a continuation of Truman’s policy of containment
When does Dulles announce the ‘massive retaliation’ strategy?
January 1954
What did the FDR join in November 1949?
FDR and Adenauer join the ‘Council of Europe’, committing West Germany to the OEEC
> Recognised full sovereignty of the FDR, in exchange for renouncement of nuclear weapons
What did West Germany join in May 1955, and what did this spark?
West Germany was admitted to NATO in May 1955
> USSR immediately recognised the sovereignty of the DDR and created the Warsaw Pact
When was the Warsaw Pact established?
May 1955
What was the Warsaw Pact?
Means of legitimising its influence in Eastern Europe
> Included the USSR, Bulgaria, Romania, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, East Germany and Albania
Presented as a collective security strategy; served as military reinforcement and consolidation of the political and economic relationship between the USSR and its satellites
When did Eisenhower threaten nuclear strikes against China?
The First Taiwan Straits Crisis (September 1954-May 1955)
The Second Taiwan Straits Crisis (August-October 1958)
What happened in the First Taiwan Straits Crisis (September 1954-May 1955), and what was the US response?
Mao began attacking small islands (Quemoy and Matsu)
> In March 1955, Dulles publicly stated that the USA was considering using nuclear weapons
What was the result of the First Taiwan Straits Crisis (September 1954-May 1955)?
- PRC stepped back by April 1955
> Arguably a success for brinkmanship; fundamental issues remained unresolved, and both sides subsequently built up their military
What happened in the Second Taiwan Straits Crisis (August-September 1958), and how did the US respond?
August 1958
> Mao begins shelling Quemoy and Matsu again, suspected of being in preparation for a full-scale invasion by Eisenhower and Dulles
US responded by putting the American military on full alert, and sending nuclear forces to the region, as well as a large American fleet; aimed to deter Chinese aggression through a strong display of force.
What was the result of the Second Taiwan Straits Crisis (August-October 1958)?
Mao stopped shelling in October 1958
> American brinkmanship made the PRC back down and thus were successful examples of key American policies in the 1950s (brinkmanship and containment)
Who was Ho Chi Minh?
Central in the foundation of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945
> Staunch communist and nationalist
> Engineered the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu
How much did the US fund the French in Indochina?
$4 billion
By April 1954, what had developed in the First Indochina War (1946-1954)?
Battle at Dien Bien Phu
> Paved the way for French withdrawal and a divided Vietnam
> First time that a non-European nationalist force had defeated elite troops from a European colonial power, acting as inspiration for other third world nationalists.
What assumptions underpinned Eisenhower’s foreign policy?
- Belief in inherent superiority of Anglo-Saxon civilisation, capitalism, and the belief that problems in the Third World could be explained by the USSR or PRC
- Belief in liberal democracy (until the people of the country made the ‘wrong choice’)
- Belief that the USA was world policeman
- A commitment to rolling back communism, the use of nuclear weapons, and the creation of alliance systems
What was the importance of the primacy of domestic politics?
US foreign policies were often designed to protect administrations from accusations that it wasn’t being sufficiently patriotic or tough enough on communism and the Third World
> Impact of presidential elections and mid-terms (every two years)
What were the results of the 1948, 1952, 1956 and 1960 elections?
1948 = Truman
1952, 56 = Eisenhower
1960 = Kennedy (JFK)
What were the three examples of rollback in the third world through the 1950s and early 1960s?
Iran (1953)
Guatemala (1954)
Congo (1961)
What company dominated Iran?
AIOC (Anglo-Iranian Oil Company)
What two leaders heavily impacted its political landscape in the early 1950s?
Mosaddegh; democratic nationalist (democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran, overthrown by a CIA-led coup in August 1953)
v
the Shah of Iran (briefly-exiled, returns to rule over Iran in August 1953; originally had failed to overthrow Mosaddegh)
Why did the US back Britain and the AIOC?
- Saw it as a potential destabilising force in Iran, which could allow for Soviet expansion into the Middle East
- Idea of ‘domino theory’ (could spread in the Middle East)
How did Mosaddegh fall from power?
- CIA funded gangs which caused civil disobedience; this led to public calls for the return of the Shah
> Mosaddegh was removed from power in a coup in August 1953, arrested, tried and convicted for treason; jailed and later utnder house arrest for the rest of his life
How long did the Shah of Iran last in power, and how did it end?
Shah of Iran stayed in control until January 1979
> Went into exile following the outbreak of revolution, having run a secular, brutal, repressive, pro-Western regime
How did the US benefit from the fall of Mosaddegh?
Eisenhower and America was promised 10% of Iranian Oil
Who was Jacobo Arbenz?
Democratically-elected President of Guatemala, overthrown in June 1954
> A democratic nationalist (not communist) who attempted to nationalise road and railway, and enact land reform (this led to an economic boom)
> UFC (large landowner in Guatemala, with connections to both Dulles) asks Eisenhower to move to overthrow Arbenz
How did Eisenhower and the CIA overthrow Arbenz?
Operation PBSUCCESS
> American government began a series of public statements alleging that the Guatemalan government had been infiltrated by communists
> CIA armed, funded and trained an army, and invaded, utilising psychological warfare, in June 1954
> Destabilised the government and intimidated the army; Arbenz was destroyed politically, and steps down in June 1954; replaced by Armas in July 1954
Who was Patrice Lumumba?
Democratically-elected Prime Minister of the Congo, overthrown in a coup in September 1960, and executed in January 1961
Who did Lumumba appeal to after Belgium and Belgian-backed businesses funded separatist militias in order to weaken the new state, and what was their response?
Appealed to the UN but recieved little practical support (effectively useless)
After rejection from the UN, who was Lumumba forced to turn to?
- Forced to turn to the Soviet Union for help
> USSR agrees to provide weapons, logistical and material support, and over a thousand Soviet military advisors
What was the US response after Lumumba turned to the USSR?
CIA and Eisenhower established a $100,000 fund to overthrow/execute Lumumba
> CIA in touch with overthrowers/killers on both days of his overthrowing/execution
Who was Diem?
Diem
> Anti-communist vietnamese national; leader of South Vietnam
> Established a ‘sectarian state’ but suppressed buddhism (95% of South Vietnam was Buddhist)
> By 1954, US begins giving South Vietnam millions of dollars.
When was the Geneva Conference?
May-July 1954
What was the problem with the Geneva Conference?
South Vietnam and the United States did not directly sign nor accept the agreements; this set the scene for further conflict, as Eisenhower/Diem rejected the proposal.
What was the Geneva Conference?
- Seperated Vietnam along the 17th parallel into two zones (northern communist zone // southern capitalist zone); decided a temporary split of Vietnam
What did the Geneva Conference decide?
Provided that a general election would be held by July 1956 to create a unified Vietnamese state.
What did the results of the October 1955 referendum in South Vietnam reveal?
Won 98% of the votes
> In many districts, there were more votes in his favour than there were registered voters (i.e. in Saigon)
What happened in November 1955?
Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) was officially established under President Ngo Dinh Diem in November 1955
> Marked the beginning of the formal conflict between North Vietnam, led by the communist government of Ho Chi Minh, and the non-communist South Vietnam, supported by the United States.
When did Eisenhower articulate the concept of the ‘Domino Theory’?
April 1954
Why did the US refuse to sign the Geneva Accords?
Eisenhower feared the domino effect.
