IKE COMMITS TO NUCLEAR POWER AS PRIMARY DEFENSE
President Eisenhower had decided that America's nuclear arsenal should be the "primary means" of defense against the communist world. Having been elected in 1952 and almost a year into his Presidency, Eisenhower believed the United States had not been pro-active against communist expansion while President Harry S Truman had served during the first years of the Cold War.
The former Commander of Allied Expeditionary Forces in World War II also believed that the nuclear deterrent would be a less costly means of defense.
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On January 12, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower's Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, announced a policy of "massive (nuclear) retaliation". The Secretary said that the government of the United States of America would henceforth protect its allies through the..."deterrent of massive retaliatory power".
President Eisenhower had decided that America's nuclear arsenal should be the "primary means" of defense against the communist world. Having been elected in 1952 and almost a year into his Presidency, Eisenhower believed the United States had not been pro-active against communist expansion while President Harry S Truman had served during the first years of the Cold War.
The former Commander of Allied Expeditionary Forces in World War II also believed that the nuclear deterrent would be a less costly means of defense.
Eisenhower and Dulles
