Foreign Policy

Question 1

Ikes Key Defence Strategy

Answer 1

Ike prioritised foreign and defence policy, his first inauguration speech was focused on the dangers of aggressive communism and war.

Question 2

Ike felt that -

Answer 2

Western Europe should not be allowed to go to communism so the United states needed to strengthen it
The middle east had half the worlds oil, so the soviets must not be allowed to control it
South East Asia was critical - the domino theory - so the French must be supported in Vietnam
America must stay stong not weaken itself by overspending on defence

Question 3

was ike a cold war president

Answer 3

Ike was the cold war president most devoted to slashing the military budget. He believed that continued military expenditure under Truman would lead to inflation and economic ruin, he didnt not want a deficit in the federal budget and clashed with Congress over his defence cuts

Question 4

what was Ikes foreign policy strategy

Answer 4

New Look Defence Policy

Question 5

new look defence policy

Answer 5

Under Ike’s New look the Us would have fewer conventional forces and rely instead on nuclear weapon. He wanted ‘more bang for the buck’ - a policy that emphasises reliance upon nuclear weapons rather than excessive spending on ground troops

Question 6

who was Ikes secretary of state for defence

Answer 6

John Foster Dulles

Question 7

John Foster Dulles

Answer 7

Appointed by Ike as secretary of state. He was anti-communist and an advocate of massive retaliation which was the use of extreme force to halt aggression. Massive retaliation was a scare tactic that was expected - brinkmanship- to push the opponent to the brink without having to use nuclear weapons. He also wanted rollback and to liberate people from communism although he was unlikely to be able to do this. Dulles believed that some issues should be covert operations and were too sensitive to be discussed by the full National Security Council

Question 8

key european foreign policy events

Answer 8

1. Death of Stalin - The Secret Speech
2. Space Race - Sputnik 1957
3. Nuclear Arms Race
4. Hungary 1956
5. West Berlin 1958
6. U2 Crisis
7. Kitchen Debate 1959
8. ‘Captive Nations’ Resolution

Question 9

‘Captive Nations’ Resolution

Answer 9

Passed by U.S Congress days before the
convention

Resolution condemned the Soviet control of
the ‘captive’ people of Eastern Europe

Americans to pray for them

Khrushchev was furious about this

Question 10

ike later FP strategy

Answer 10

Eisenhower Doctrine

Question 11

Eisenhower Doctrine

Answer 11

Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower promising military or economic aid to any Middle Eastern country needing help in resisting communist aggression. The doctrine was intended to check increased Soviet influence in the Middle East, which had resulted from the supply of arms to Egypt by communist countries as well as from strong communist support of Arab states against the Israeli, French, and British attack on Egypt in October 1956 that was at the centre of the so-called Suez Crisis.

Question 12

Death of Stalin

Answer 12

Stalin died on March 5th 1953. Immediately protest broke out in East Germany which had been suppressed while the power vacuum was addressed by the Kremlin. Malenkov who briefly succeeded Stalin talked of peace and mutual understanding. Ike responded with his chance for peace speech, where he said Russia would have to agree to certain conditions. First Russia would have to agree to a free, united Germany and the independence of the Eastern European Nations. The soviets rejected those demands as it would have damaged their security. K emerged as the new leader of the USSR after several years, this led to a cold war thaw signalled by the first meeting of soviet and american leaders since Potsdam. There were no meaningful agreements at the 1955 Geneva summit, but the cold war was a little less cold. In 1956 K delivered a secret speech in which he denounced stalins cult of personality and called for peaceful coexistence with the west

Question 13

Space Race

Answer 13

On 4th Oct 1957 the SU launched Sputnik which was the worlds first man-made satellite. Many americans reacted hysterically, believing that the Soviets could now send nuclear warheads across the oceans. Americas position as the technological leader of the world looked shaky, the press was antagonistic towards Ike. In Feb 1958 the US launched Explorer One but in May, the soviets launched Sputnik II which was bigger than the first one - this prompted Ike to establish NASA, as he was faced with frequent accusations that he neglected defence

Question 14

Nuclear Arms Race

Answer 14

Since 1945, America and the USSR had been engaged in a race to develop the more powerful bombs. The rocket technology required also aided the space race. By 1953, hydrogen bombs with a destructive power seven times that unleashed on Hiroshima had been developed by both sides and by 1955 the US were keeping a third of its nuclear bombers ready to fly at a 15 mins notice. In 1957, the USA had a stockpile of 5543 compared to the USSRs 650. However the USSR had developed Intercontinental Ballistic Missles which could fly the at thousands of miles before hitting a target, which began to make the location of weapons near the US a serious concern for Ike. Ike warned about the dangers of the nuclear arms race in this chance for peace speech and made several suggestions designed to decrease tensions

Question 15

developments of the nuclear arms race

Answer 15

Dec 1953 - In his atoms for peace speech at the UN, Ike proposed pooling nuclear resources to co-operate on the development of the peaceful use of atomic power. However, the soviets were unwilling to give up any of their nuclear weapon construction materials as the Americans had more
July 1955 - Geneva Summit - Ike suggested ‘open skies’ in which both sides could fly over the others territory to monitor any great military build-up. K rejected the proposal and called it Ikes ‘transparent espionage device’
Oct 1958 - SU-American talks on a nuclear bomb test ban treaty got nowhere. They agreed that they did not want war and nothing else

Question 16

hungary

Answer 16

K began the process of destalinisation in 1956, this led to protests in Hungary as people realised they were free from Stalinist oppression. Protests in Hungary led to the withdrawal of hard-line leader Rakosi, the new leader Imre Magy promised free elections private farmland and exit from the Warsaw Pacr. There was a widespread belief that Ike, the great liberator of Europe would support Hungary. K sent troops to Hungary and killed 3000 protestors and quickly re-established control by installing Kadar who crushed resistance. Ike did nothing to help as he claimed that nothing in the containment policy or Truman Doctrine warranted going to war over a state rebelling against communist control, but the faiilure of the USA to come to the aid of Hungary made it clear that the world was divided. Hungarian rebels expected American aid because of promises of rollback but nothing was done. Eastern Europe remained within the soviet bloc. Hungary demonstrated that the commitment to rollback was a sham and so the iron curtain remained impenetrable

Question 17

West Berlin

Answer 17

On 10th Nov 1958, K demanded that the West allies pull out of West Berlin in six months. He was aware that a repeat of the Berlin Airfilt was impossible given the growth of the city but Berlin was symbolic of the fight against communism and so Ike was accussed of not taking the Berlin Crisis serious. Ike did not want to give in to soviet demands so he invited K to the US for an 11 day tour and there was no deadline to solve the issue

Question 18

U2 crisis and covert warfare

Answer 18

1960, One method of covert warfare was spying, U2 were reconnaissance planes used to photograph the enemy’s area and check for the stockpiling of weapons in the soviet union. Ike had doubts about the flights but was reassured by the CIA that nothing could go wrong as the pilots were ordered to self-destruct the plane if it got into trouble. After four years of successful U2 spy flights over the SU, a pilot Gary powers was shot down by the SU in 1960. Ike pretended that it had been a meteorological mission but the plane and pilot were found, Ike then admitted responsibility for the spy flight, which led to an embarrassment for Ike and it broke down the Paris summit as K went on a 45min Anti-American rant, this made diplomacy impossible and brought back cold war tensions

Question 19

reactions to the Rise of Communism in Asia

Answer 19

The Korean War was still going on when he became president, he was afraid of the Domino Effect, that communism would spread to neighbouring countries after the fall of China to communism in 1949 and the Sino-soviet alliance in 1950, which led many Americans to believe that they were behind the communist uprisings in Asia such as in Indochina

Question 20

ending the war in Korea

Answer 20

Ike went to Korea on 2nd Dec 1952, he saw that the communists were well established and concluded that the US should exit the stalemate. Many political figures such as Nixon and the US commander in Korea wanted an offensive and therefore did not want the war to end. Ike and Dulles used both diplomacy and brinkmanship by threatening to use nuclear weapons on China and North Korea if they did not back down, this worked and an armistice was agreed to on 27th July 1953, this strengthened Ike’s position at home and abroad, his effective use of aggression established him on the world stage

Question 21

Vietnam

Answer 21

After WWII, Vietnam had been a French colony as part of French Indochina, Vietnamese nationalists and communist Ho Chi Mihn fought got independence against the French. Truman had given $2B to help the french so that Vietnam would not be lost. In 1954, the French begged Ike for an American air strike to help their battle against communists in Dien Ben Phu. Nixon and Dulles advocated supporting the French. Ike agreed to covert air support being provided by American B-26 bombers whilst Dulles suggested providing the French with a nuclear device. Ike gave orders for Operation Vulture, a US intervention in Vietnam which had Nixon’s support but was eventually rejected

Question 22

arguments for Intervention in Vietnam

Answer 22

1. Ike considered a strong anti-communist France important to the Western Alliance
2. Ike did not want accusations that he lost Vietnam
3. Ike had advocated role back in 1952 but had not liberated anyone from communism
4. He was told by the National Security Council that Vietnam was vital to the security of the US because its loss to communism would affect the global balance of power

Question 23

press conference concerning vietnam

Answer 23

In a 1954 Press conference, Ike explained his Domino Theory that if America allowed vietnam to fall to communism, other SE asian countries would follow, this was undesirable because SE asia had valuable resources and millions would be lost to a communist dictatorship

Question 24

arguments against intervention

Answer 24

Some advisors doubted whether the loss of one small nation to communism would trigger the others
Others felt that US intervention in Vietnam would be pointless
Ike had just gained massive popularity by getting American troops out of Korea and did not want to send them back to SE asia again
The New look defence policy meant that few troops were ready
Ike opted against intervention, the french were defeated at Dien Bien Phu and decided to leave Vietnam

Question 25

what global conference was done concerning Vietnam

Answer 25

Geneva Conference

Question 26

date of the Geneva conference

Answer 26

1954

Question 27

geneva conference

Answer 27

A decision was reached on July 20th 1954 to partition Vietnam into a communist North and Capitalist South and for elections to be held in 1956. Ike refused to sign the Geneva Accords and created a South Vietnam State under Ngo Dinh Diem, who committed injustices against the Buddhist communities but the US turned a blind eye to it because of Diem’s strong anti-communist beliefs. By 1961, Ike had given Diem $7B and 1000 American advisors. American advisors had established SEATO to protect south Vietnam. However, the communists were active and effective in disrupting SV. Nixon said the problem was that the SV simply ‘lacked the ability to conduct a war by themselves or govern themselves’ but the real problem was that Ike had committed the US to an unimpressive leader in a state that was not viable. Ike is often praised for keeping American troops out, however, he , missed the opportunity for the US to exit with the French. Instead, he staked American prestige on the continued existence of the South Vietnamese state he had created. Although his actions were understandable given the domestic cold war pressures, he bears massive responsibility for the future Vietnam war

Question 28

what increased American antagonism towards communist china

Answer 28

The Korean war and the Matsu Crisis 1954

Question 29

matsu crisis

Answer 29

Quemoy and Matsu were small islands situated in Taiwan which separated Communist China from Chiangs Taiwan, those islands were closer to China but controlled by Taiwan. Soon after the establishment of SEATO China bombarded them. The JCS pressed Ike to intervene but he responded that the US had no treaty with Taiwan and he did not want to risk war with China and the USSR over two small islands. China escalated tensions (imprisoned American pilots shot down over China in the Korean war) which put Ike under pressure to act and he signed a treaty with Chiang committing the US to the defence of Taiwan. In 1955 Ike asked Congress for authorisation, enabling him to react in defence of taiwan. He used brinkmanship with china and they backed down by threatening to use Atomic weapons

Question 30

why was the middle east desirable

Answer 30

Due to its oil and the strategic importance of the Suez Canal

Question 31

crisis faced by Ike in the Middle East

Answer 31

Iran
Egypt and the Suez Canal
Arab nationalism

Question 32

Iran

Answer 32

In 1951, Iran’s democratically elected PM Mohammad Mossadegh seized the British Owned Anglo Persian Oil Company. British and American oil companies and the CIA assured Ike that Iran might turn communist. Ike used the CIA to encourage an Iranian Coup in 1953 that restored the authority of the dictatorial, pro-american Shah who gave US oil companies 40% of iranian oil

Question 33

Egypt and the Suez canal crisis

Answer 33

The Americans tried to persuade the Arab states that the SU was their great enemy but Arab hostility focused on Isreal. Ike sought to keep out of the Arab-Isreali tensions. He refused to sell arms to either side but hoped to win Arab friends through economic Aid.

Question 34

Nasser and Egypt

Answer 34

Ike promised Egypt financial and techinal aid to build the Aswan Dam. However, Egypt leader Nasser bought Soviet Supplied arms from the Czechs, recognised China and seemed to be trying to create a neutral bloc in the Cold War. Dulles withdrew the aid offer in 1956. Nasser then nationalised the Suez Canal. Britain and France resented the loss of their investments and wanted to ensure continued access to the Canal.The British Sought American support for military action against Nasser but Ike refused, France and Israel then prepared for action. The Suez crisis took place in Oct 1956. Isreal attacked Egypt and the Sinai desert, the Britain and France moved in to safeguard the canal. Ike pressured Britain and France to withdraw.

Question 35

why did Ike pressure Britain and France to withdraw

Answer 35

Ike wanted to keep in with the Arab nations for their oil and friendship against the communist bloc.
He wanted to avoid alienating Muslims across the world
He wanted to avoid association with Anglo-French neo-colonialism lest it makes Third World countries ally with the SU
Keep the SU out of the middle east. Ike received international acclaim

Question 36

Arab nationalism

Answer 36

By 1958, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon were buying military equipment from the United States while Syria and Egpyt were supplied by the Soviets and Isreal by France. Another force for instability was Nasser, who aroused the Arab nationalism that contributed to the July 1958 overthrow of the pro-western iraqi monarchy. This worried the lebanese government which appealed for american aid

Question 37

escalation in Lebanon

Answer 37

Ike felled compelled to do something to stop the trend towards chaos. For the only time in his presidency, he sent US military into another country - Lebanon. They landed in Lebanon, never fired a shot and exited within a month. The lebanese regime was secured

Question 38

why did Ike intervene in Lebanon

Answer 38

1. The Lebanese leader had sought US intervention
2. There was no chance of a soviet american clash
3. Display of American strength
4. Aimed to disprove the claim that the New Look was inflexible

Question 39

failures of Cento

Answer 39

Given that it lasted just 24 years, failed to prevent Soviet influence in many parts of the Middle East (e.g. Egypt and Syria), failed to prevent or intervene in wars or revolutions involving member states, and who’s main lasting legacy is a rail line, I think it’s fair to argue that CENTO was among the least successful Cold War alliances.