Foreign Policy Flashcards
(39 cards)
Ikes Key Defence Strategy
Ike prioritised foreign and defence policy, his first inauguration speech was focused on the dangers of aggressive communism and war.
Ike felt that -
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
was ike a cold war president
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
what was Ikes foreign policy strategy
New Look Defence Policy
new look defence policy
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
who was Ikes secretary of state for defence
John Foster Dulles
John Foster Dulles
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
key european foreign policy events
- Death of Stalin - The Secret Speech
- Space Race - Sputnik 1957
- Nuclear Arms Race
- Hungary 1956
- West Berlin 1958
- U2 Crisis
- Kitchen Debate 1959
- ‘Captive Nations’ Resolution
‘Captive Nations’ Resolution
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
ike later FP strategy
Eisenhower Doctrine
Eisenhower Doctrine
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.
Death of Stalin
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
Space Race
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
Nuclear Arms Race
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
developments of the nuclear arms race
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
hungary
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
West Berlin
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
U2 crisis and covert warfare
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
reactions to the Rise of Communism in Asia
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
ending the war in Korea
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
Vietnam
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
arguments for Intervention in Vietnam
- Ike considered a strong anti-communist France important to the Western Alliance
- Ike did not want accusations that he lost Vietnam
- Ike had advocated role back in 1952 but had not liberated anyone from communism
- 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
press conference concerning vietnam
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
arguments against intervention
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
