Dwight D. Eisenhower

=== Foreign policy ===

[[File:Nasser and Eisenhower, 1960.jpg|thumb|Eisenhower with Egyptian President [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] during Nasser's visit to United Nations in New York, September 1960.]]
[[File:Indo US.jpg|thumb|Eisenhower with Indian Prime Minister [[Jawaharlal Nehru]].]]
[[File:U.S. President Eisenhower visited TAIWAN 美國總統艾森豪於1960年6月訪問臺灣台北時與蔣中正總統-2.jpg|thumb|Eisenhower visits the Republic of China and its President [[Chiang Kai-shek]] in Taipei.]]
{{Excerpt|Foreign policy of the Dwight D. Eisenhower administration|templates=no}}

==== Space Race ====
{{Further|Space Race}}
[[File:1974S Eisenhower Reverse.jpg|thumb|In the 1970s the reverse of the [[Eisenhower dollar]] celebrated America's Moon landings, which began 11 years after NASA was created during Eisenhower's presidency]]
Eisenhower and the CIA had known since at least January 1957, nine months before [[Sputnik 1|''Sputnik'']], that Russia had the capability to launch a small payload into orbit and was likely to do so within a year.<ref>John M. Logsdon, "Exploring the Unknown: Selected Documents in the History of the U.S. Civil Space Program" (NASA; 1995)</ref>

Eisenhower's support of the nation's fledgling [[United States space program|space program]] was officially modest until the Soviet launch of [[Sputnik]] in 1957, gaining the Cold War enemy enormous prestige. He then launched a national campaign that funded not just space exploration but a major strengthening of science and higher education. The Eisenhower administration determined to adopt a non-aggressive policy that would allow "space-crafts of any state to overfly all states, a region free of military posturing and launch Earth satellites to explore space".<ref>Logsdon, John M., and Lear, Linda J. Exploring the Unknown:Selected Documents in the History of the U.S. Civil Space Program/ Washington D.C.</ref> His [[Treaty on Open Skies|Open Skies]] Policy attempted to legitimize illegal [[Lockheed U-2]] flyovers and [[Project Genetrix]] while paving the way for spy satellite technology to orbit over sovereign territory,<ref>W. D. Kay, Defining NASA The Historical Debate Over the Agency's Mission, 2005.</ref> but [[Nikolai Bulganin]] and [[Nikita Khrushchev]] declined Eisenhower's proposal at the Geneva conference in July 1955.<ref>Parmet, Herbert S. Eisenhower and the American Crusades (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1972)</ref> In response to Sputnik being launched in October 1957, Eisenhower created [[NASA]] as a civilian space agency in October 1958, signed a landmark science education law, and improved relations with American scientists.<ref>Yankek Mieczkowski, ''Eisenhower's Sputnik Moment: The Race for Space and World Prestige'' (Cornell University Press; 2013)</ref>

Fear spread through the United States that the Soviet Union would invade and spread [[communism]], so Eisenhower wanted to not only create a [[Reconnaissance satellite|surveillance satellite]] to detect any threats but [[ballistic missile]]s that would protect the United States. In strategic terms, it was Eisenhower who devised the American basic strategy of [[Deterrence theory|nuclear deterrence]] based upon the [[Nuclear triad|triad]] of [[strategic bomber]]s, land-based [[intercontinental ballistic missile]]s (ICBMs), and [[submarine-launched ballistic missile]]s (SLBMs).<ref>Peter J. Roman, ''Eisenhower and the Missile Gap'' (1996)</ref>

NASA planners projected that [[human spaceflight]] would pull the United States ahead in the Space Race; however, in 1960, an Ad Hoc Panel on Man-in-Space concluded that "man-in-space can not be justified" and was too costly.<ref>The Presidents's Science Advisory Committee, "Report of the Ad Hoc Panel on Man-in-Space" December 16, 1960. NASA Historical Collection</ref> Eisenhower later resented the space program and its gargantuan price tag—he was quoted as saying, "Anyone who would spend $40 billion in a race to the moon for national prestige is nuts."<ref>Greg Ward, "A Rough Guide History of the USA" (Penguin Group: London, 2003)</ref>

==== Korean War, Free China and Red China ====
In late 1952, Eisenhower went to Korea and discovered a military and political stalemate. Once in office, when the Chinese [[People's Volunteer Army]] began a buildup in the [[Kaesong]] sanctuary, he considered using nuclear weapons if an armistice was not reached. Whether China was informed of the potential for nuclear force is unknown.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jackson|first=Michael Gordon|date=2005|title=Beyond Brinkmanship: Eisenhower, Nuclear War Fighting, and Korea, 1953–1968|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/27552659|journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly|volume=35|issue=1|pages=52–75|doi=10.1111/j.1741-5705.2004.00235.x|jstor=27552659|issn=0360-4918}}</ref>  His earlier military reputation in Europe was effective with the Chinese communists.<ref>{{harvnb|Ambrose|1984|p=51}}</ref> The National Security Council, the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]], and the [[Strategic Air Command]] (SAC) devised detailed plans for nuclear war against Red China.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Matthew|last=Jones|title=Targeting China: U.S. Nuclear Planning and 'Massive Retaliation' in East Asia, 1953–1955|journal=Journal of Cold War Studies|year=2008|volume=10|issue=4|pages=37–65 |doi=10.1162/jcws.2008.10.4.37|s2cid=57564482 }}</ref> With the death of Stalin in March 1953, Russian support for a Chinese communist hard-line weakened and China decided to compromise on the prisoner issue.<ref name="Ambrose 1984, p. 106–7">{{harvnb|Ambrose|1984|pp=106–107}}</ref>

[[File:1951 Chung Baik Eisenhower.jpg|thumb|Eisenhower in Korea with General [[Chung Il-kwon]], and [[Baik Seon-yup]], 1952]]

In July 1953, an armistice took effect with Korea divided along [[Military Demarcation Line|approximately the same boundary as in 1950]]. The armistice and boundary remain in effect today. The armistice, which concluded despite opposition from Secretary Dulles, South Korean President [[Syngman Rhee]], and also within Eisenhower's party, has been described by biographer [[Stephen E. Ambrose]] as the greatest achievement of the administration. Eisenhower had the insight to realize that unlimited war in the nuclear age was unthinkable, and limited war unwinnable.<ref name="Ambrose 1984, p. 106–7" />

A point of emphasis in Eisenhower's campaign had been his endorsement of a policy of liberation from communism as opposed to a policy of containment. This remained his preference despite the armistice with Korea.<ref>{{harvnb|Ambrose|1984|p=173}}</ref> Throughout his terms Eisenhower took a hard-line attitude toward China, as demanded by conservative Republicans, with the goal of driving a wedge between China and the Soviet Union.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Qiang|last=Zhai|title=Crisis and Confrontations: Chinese-American Relations during the Eisenhower Administration|journal=Journal of American-East Asian Relations|year=2000|volume=9|issue=3/4|pages=221–249|doi=10.1163/187656100793645921|doi-access=free}}</ref>
Eisenhower continued Truman's policy of recognizing the Republic of China (Taiwan) as the legitimate government of China, not the Peking (Beijing) regime. There were localized flare-ups when the People's Liberation Army began shelling the islands of [[Quemoy]] and [[Matsu Islands|Matsu]] in September 1954. Eisenhower received recommendations embracing every variation of response; he thought it essential to have every possible option available to him as the crisis unfolded.<ref name="Ambrose 1984, p. 231">{{harvnb|Ambrose|1984|p=231}}</ref>

The [[Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty]] with the Republic of China was signed in December 1954. He requested and secured from Congress their "Free China Resolution" in January 1955, which gave Eisenhower unprecedented power in advance to use military force at any level in defense of Free China and the Pescadores. The Resolution bolstered the morale of the Chinese nationalists and signaled to Beijing that the US was committed to holding the line.<ref name="Ambrose 1984, p. 231" />

During the [[First Taiwan Strait Crisis|First Taiwan Strait crisis]], Eisenhower threatened to use nuclear weapons against PRC military targets in [[Fujian]].<ref name=":17">{{Cite book |last=Crean |first=Jeffrey |title=The Fear of Chinese Power: an International History |date=2024 |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Academic]] |isbn=978-1-350-23394-2 |edition= |series=New Approaches to International History series |location=London, UK}}</ref>{{Rp|page=89}} These threats prompted Mao Zedong to launch [[China and weapons of mass destruction|China's nuclear weapons program]].<ref name=":17" />{{Rp|pages=89–90}} He authorized a series of bomb tests labeled [[Operation Teapot]]. Nevertheless, he left the Chinese communists guessing as to the exact nature of his nuclear response. This allowed Eisenhower to accomplish all of his objectives—the end of this communist encroachment, the retention of the Islands by the Chinese nationalists and continued peace.<ref>{{harvnb|Ambrose|1984|pp=245, 246}}</ref> Defense of the Republic of China from an invasion remains a core American policy.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Robert|last=Accinelli|title=Eisenhower, Congress, and the 1954–55 offshore island crisis|journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly|year=1990|volume=20|issue=2|pages=329–348|jstor=27550618}}</ref>

China invited some American reporters to China in 1956, having previously ousted American reporters after the PRC's founding.<ref name=":Minami2">{{Cite book |last=Minami |first=Kazushi |title=People's Diplomacy: How Americans and Chinese Transformed US-China Relations during the Cold War |date=2024 |publisher=[[Cornell University Press]] |isbn=9781501774157 |location=Ithaca, NY}}</ref>{{Rp|pages=115–116}} Eisenhower upheld the U.S. ban on travel to China.<ref name=":Minami2" />{{Rp|page=116}} U.S. newspapers, including [[The New York Times|''The'' ''New York Times'']] and [[The Washington Post|''The'' ''Washington Post'']] criticized the Eisenhower's administration decision as antithetical to the free press.<ref name=":Minami2" />{{Rp|page=116}}

==== Southeast Asia ====
{{further|United States in the Vietnam War}}
Early in 1953, the French asked Eisenhower for help in [[French Indochina]] against the Communists, supplied from China, who were fighting the [[First Indochina War]]. Eisenhower sent Lt. General [[John W. O'Daniel]] to Vietnam to assess the French forces there.<ref>Dunnigan, James and [[Albert Nofi|Nofi, Albert]] (1999), ''Dirty Little Secrets of the Vietnam War''. St. Martins Press, p. 85.</ref> Chief of Staff [[Matthew Ridgway]] dissuaded the President from intervening by presenting a comprehensive estimate of the massive military deployment that would be necessary. Eisenhower stated prophetically that "this war would absorb our troops by divisions."<ref>{{harvnb|Ambrose|1984|p=175}}</ref>

Eisenhower did provide France with bombers and non-combat personnel. After a few months with no success by the French, he added other aircraft to drop [[napalm]] for clearing purposes. Further requests for assistance from the French were agreed to but only on conditions Eisenhower knew were impossible to meet&nbsp;– allied participation and congressional approval.<ref>{{harvnb|Ambrose|1984|pp=175–157}}</ref> When the French fortress of [[Dien Bien Phu]] fell to the Vietnamese Communists in May 1954, Eisenhower refused to intervene despite urging from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the Vice President and the head of NCS.<ref>{{harvnb|Ambrose|1984|p=185}}</ref>

Eisenhower responded to the French defeat with the formation of the [[SEATO]] (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization) Alliance with the UK, France, New Zealand and Australia in defense of Vietnam against communism. At that time the French and Chinese reconvened the Geneva peace talks; Eisenhower agreed the US would participate only as an observer. After France and the Communists agreed to a partition of Vietnam, Eisenhower rejected the agreement, offering military and economic aid to southern Vietnam.<ref name="Nofi Albert p 257">Dunnigan, James and Nofi, Albert (1999), ''Dirty Little Secrets of the Vietnam War'', p. 257</ref> Ambrose argues that Eisenhower, by not participating in the Geneva agreement, had kept the US out of Vietnam; nevertheless, with the formation of SEATO, he had put the US back into the conflict.<ref>{{harvnb|Ambrose|1984|pp=204–209}}</ref>

In late 1954, [[J. Lawton Collins|Gen. J. Lawton Collins]] was made ambassador to "Free Vietnam", effectively elevating the country to sovereign status. Collins' instructions were to support the leader [[Ngo Dinh Diem]] in subverting communism, by helping him to build an army and wage a military campaign.<ref>{{harvnb|Ambrose|1984|p=215}}</ref> In February 1955, Eisenhower dispatched the first American soldiers to Vietnam as military advisors to Diem's army. After Diem announced the formation of the Republic of Vietnam (commonly known as [[South Vietnam]]) in October, Eisenhower immediately recognized the new state and offered military, economic, and technical assistance.<ref>{{cite book|first=David L.|last=Anderson|title=Trapped by Success: The Eisenhower Administration and Vietnam, 1953–1961|url={{GBurl|id=tM88nZNx2J8C}}|year=1991|publisher=Columbia U.P.|isbn=978-0231515337}}</ref>

In the years that followed, Eisenhower increased the number of US military advisors in South Vietnam to 900.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.swarthmore.edu/library/peace/conscientiousobjection/OverviewVietnamWar.htm |title=Vietnam War |publisher=Swarthmore College Peace Collection |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160803124531/http://www.swarthmore.edu/library/peace/conscientiousobjection/OverviewVietnamWar.htm |archive-date=August 3, 2016 }}</ref> This was due to [[North Vietnam]]'s support of "uprisings" in the south and concern the nation would fall.<ref name="Nofi Albert p 257" /> In May 1957 Diem, then [[Leaders of South Vietnam|President of South Vietnam]], [[Ngo Dinh Diem presidential visit to the United States|made a state visit]] to the United States. Eisenhower pledged his continued support, and a parade was held in Diem's honor in New York City. Although Diem was publicly praised, in private Secretary of State John Foster Dulles conceded that Diem had been selected because there were no better alternatives.<ref>Karnow, Stanley. (1991), ''Vietnam, A History'', p. 230.</ref>

After the election of November 1960, Eisenhower, in a briefing with John F. Kennedy, pointed out the communist threat in Southeast Asia as requiring prioritization in the next administration. Eisenhower told Kennedy he considered Laos "the cork in the bottle" with regard to the regional threat.<ref>Reeves, Richard (1993), ''President Kennedy: Profile of Power'', p. 75.</ref>

==== Legitimation of Francoist Spain ====
{{Main|Pact of Madrid}}
[[File:Franco eisenhower 1959 madrid.jpg|thumb|Spanish dictator [[Francisco Franco]] and Eisenhower in [[Madrid]] in 1959]]
The Pact of Madrid, signed on September 23, 1953, by [[Francoist Spain]] and the United States, was a significant effort to break [[international isolation]] of Spain, together with the [[Concordat of 1953]]. This development came at a time when other victorious Allies and much of the rest of the world remained hostile{{efn|For the 1946 United Nations condemnation<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.derechoshumanos.net/memoriahistorica/1946-Resolucion-ONU.htm|title=Resolution 39 (I) of the UN General Assembly on the Spanish question.}}</ref> of the Francoist regime, see "[[Spanish Question (United Nations)|Spanish Question]]"}} to a [[Fascism|fascist]] regime sympathetic to the cause of the former [[Axis powers]] and [[German involvement in the Spanish Civil War|established with Nazi assistance]]. This accord took the form of three separate executive agreements that pledged the United States to furnish [[foreign aid|economic]] and [[military aid]] to Spain.

==== Middle East and Eisenhower doctrine ====
[[File:ShahEisenhower.jpg|thumb|upright|Eisenhower with the Shah of Iran, [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]] (1959)]]

Even before he was inaugurated Eisenhower accepted a request from the British government to restore the Shah of Iran (Mohammad Reza Pahlavi) to power. He therefore [[1953 Iranian coup d'état|authorized the CIA]] to overthrow Prime Minister [[Mohammad Mosaddegh]].<ref>Eisenhower gave verbal approval to Secretary of State [[John Foster Dulles]] and to Director of Central Intelligence [[Allen Dulles]] to proceed with the coup; Ambrose, ''Eisenhower, Vol. 2: The President'' p. 111; Ambrose (1990), ''Eisenhower: Soldier and President'', New York: Simon and Schuster, p. 333.</ref> This resulted in increased strategic control over Iranian oil by [[Seven Sisters (oil companies)|US and British companies]].<ref>{{harvnb|Ambrose|1984|p=129}}</ref>

In November 1956, Eisenhower forced an end to the combined British, French and Israeli invasion of Egypt in response to the [[Suez Crisis]], receiving praise from Egyptian president [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]]. Simultaneously he condemned the brutal Soviet invasion of [[Hungarian People's Republic|Hungary]] in response to the [[Hungarian Revolution of 1956]]. He publicly disavowed his allies at the United Nations and used financial and diplomatic pressure to make them withdraw from Egypt.<ref>Kingseed, Cole (1995), ''Eisenhower and the Suez Crisis of 1956'', ch. 6</ref> Eisenhower explicitly defended his strong position against Britain and France in his memoirs, published in 1965.<ref>Dwight D. Eisenhower, ''Waging Peace: 1956–1961'' (1965) p. 99</ref>

After the Suez Crisis, the United States became the protector of unstable friendly governments in the Middle East via the "[[Eisenhower Doctrine]]".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Lahav|first=Pnina|title=The Suez Crisis of 1956 and Its Aftermath: A Comparative Study of Constitutions, Use of Force, Diplomacy and International Relations|url=https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1199&context=faculty_scholarship|journal=Boston University Law Review|volume=95}}</ref> Designed by Secretary of State Dulles, it held the US would be "prepared to use armed force&nbsp;... [to counter] aggression from any country controlled by international communism". Further, the US would provide economic and military aid and, if necessary, use military force to stop the spread of communism in the Middle East.<ref>Isaac Alteras, ''Eisenhower and Israel: U.S.–Israeli Relations, 1953–1960'' (1993), p. 296.</ref>

Eisenhower applied the doctrine in 1957–1958 by dispensing economic aid to Jordan, and by encouraging Syria's neighbors to consider military operations against it. More dramatically, in July 1958, he sent 15,000 [[United States Marine Corps|Marines]] and soldiers to Lebanon as part of [[Operation Blue Bat]], a non-combat peacekeeping mission to stabilize the pro-Western government and to prevent a radical revolution.<ref name="Little 1996 27–54">{{cite journal|last=Little|first=Douglas|title=His finest hour? Eisenhower, Lebanon, and the 1958 Middle East Crisis|journal=Diplomatic History|year=1996|volume=20|issue=1|pages=27–54|doi=10.1111/j.1467-7709.1996.tb00251.x}}</ref> The Marines departed three months later. Washington considered the military intervention successful since it brought about regional stability, weakened Soviet influence, and intimidated the Egyptian and Syrian governments, whose anti-West political position had hardened after the Suez Crisis.<ref name="Little 1996 27–54" />

Most Arab countries were skeptical about the "Eisenhower doctrine" because they considered "Zionist imperialism" the real danger. However, they did take the opportunity to obtain free money and weapons. Egypt and Syria, supported by the Soviet Union, openly opposed the initiative. However, Egypt received American aid until the [[Six-Day War]] in 1967.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Hahn|first=Peter L.|title=Securing the Middle East: The Eisenhower Doctrine of 1957|journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly|year=2006|volume=36|issue=1|pages=38–47|doi=10.1111/j.1741-5705.2006.00285.x}}</ref>

As the [[Cold War]] deepened, Dulles sought to isolate the [[Soviet Union]] by building regional alliances against it. Critics sometimes called it "[[Pactomania|pacto-mania]]".<ref>{{cite book|last=Navari|first=Cornelia|year=2000|title=Internationalism and the State in the Twentieth Century|publisher=Routledge|page=316|isbn=978-0415097475}}</ref>

==== 1960 U-2 incident ====
[[File:US Air Force U-2 (2139646280).jpg|thumb|A [[Lockheed U-2|U-2]] reconnaissance aircraft in flight]]
{{Excerpt|1960 U-2 incident|templates=no|files=no}}