Eisenhower's Containment Through "Action by Inaction" During the Suez Canal Crisis

The view by some historians is that The Dwight Eisenhower foreign policy was popularly known as the “New Look”. This policy aimed to maintain the American financial economy while Eisenhower was planning the Cold war and continue the containment of communism regime. Also, the “New look” policy relied heavily on nuclear weapons to stop communism. Therefore the policy was been assessed as being suppressing, rigid, and too dependent on brinkmanship (trying to achieve an outcome by pushing dangerous events to the brink) and massive retaliation (also known as a massive response, this is a military doctrine and nuclear strategy in which a state commits itself to retaliate in much greater force in the event of an attack). Arguably, his foreign policy stressed peace greatly, but it also threatened war (brinkmanship and massive retaliation).

The role of the Middle East has been very crucial to the United States, especially after WWII. The U.S. had three strategic goals in the Middle East and consistently followed them throughout various events that unfolded in the region. First, with the emergence of the cold war between the Soviet Union and the U.S., policymakers began to recognize the importance of the Middle East as a strategic area in containing Soviet influence. This also coincides with the U.S. becoming increasingly wary of Arab nationalism and the threat it posed to U.S. influence. Secondly, the emergence of the new Israeli state in 1948 further deepened U.S. policy and involvement in the region while also creating friction between the U.S. and Arab states which were

Since his presidency did not begin with Israel becoming a state, his focus was greatly adjusted and at first there was a noticeable decline in aid and care for Israel’s wellbeing. Israel was also rather vulnerable during this time, due to the fact that there more Jewish refugees entering Israel from surrounding Arab states. President Eisenhower convincingly proved that America had the ability to influence Israel in a good way, although his presidency ended with the Middle East still in a state of war. During Eisenhower’s administration, there were two successful incidents of U.S. management of Israel and in both circumstances, Eisenhower avoided the political compulsions of America’s attachment to Israel and instead forced the Israelis to act upon principle. Unfortunately, his presidency was the last to give Israel undivided focus, for the ones to follow were absorbed in other affairs and did not provide the same constructive support.

Eisenhower’s administration was to a somewhat large extent successful in addressing Cold War fears after World War II through attempts at promoting capitalism and preventing the spread of Communism.

“The Middle East, which has been converted by Russia ,Would today be prized more than ever by international communism.” Thesis: While all Cold War presidents wanted to stop communism,they all had different ideas on how to accomplish that issue.President truman used economic aid. President Eisenhower focused on military aid.President Kennedy used military use.

Both President Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon were presidents during the cold war. Their uses of presidential power within foreign policy greatly shaped the United State’s strategies in cold war politics. Comparing their actions as Chief Diplomat, Chief Legislator, Chief Executive and Commander in Chief shows how they have used both their formal and informal powers to lead the nation. President Eisenhower was much more successful in gaining congress approval through working with them yet had much more trouble dealing with peace abroad. Nixon was able to use powers to make successful gains within the cold war abroad, yet had trouble

In each position, Eisenhower achieved great successes and also made mistakes. But whether he was navigating setbacks or achieving triumphs, he led. A self-described “simple Kansas farm boy,” his humor and congeniality—along with that famous lopsided grin—hid a keen and curious mind, an unyielding work ethic, and an ironclad sense of self-confidence. That confidence allowed him to stand tall with the weight of the world on his shoulders and boldly make critical decisions. The word his associates most often used to describe him was trust; people trusted Ike to make the right choices and shoot straight with them. His dedication to principle and his bounding vitality could inspire people to lofty visions, while his aw-shucks humility created a feeling of friendship and intimacy even with those he had never met. These qualities and more won him the affection, loyalty, and admiration of those who served both under him and over

Truman’s foreign policy experts sought American-Arab friendship as a barrier against Soviet influence in the Middle East and as a means to secure access to Arabian oil.

America constantly seemed to be on the verge of war, with Eisenhower controlling a significant Cold War crisis every year he was in office: Korea, Vietnam, Formosa, Suez, Hungary, Berlin, and the U-2 (Eisenhower National Historic Site). Many officials around Eisenhower clamored to drop the Atomic Bomb, yet he always kept a level head because he knew that real security meant preserving fundamental values (Miller Center – Dwight David Eisenhower). President Eisenhower was determined to find world peace by dealing calmly and realistically with each situation that transpired while he was in office. His objective was to find a solution that avoided war while upholding America’s

In the article, “The Eisenhower Doctrine, 1957”, it states, “Under the Eisenhower Doctrine, a country could request American economic assistance and/or aid from U.S. military forces if it was being threatened by armed aggression from another state.” This line portrays the purpose of the Eisenhower Doctrine. It explains how this doctrine allowed other countries, if at risk or put in danger by another area, would be allowed to asked for American assistance, whether it be economy or military assistance. In addition, it had “singled out the Soviet threat”, as mentioned in the same article. In other words, this policy was created in response to groups such as the Soviet Union and their goal of expanding communistic methods, also known as the Soviet Threat. The Eisenhower Doctrine was influenced through events such as the Suez Crisis of 1956. In the Suez Crisis of 1956, a larger tension had broken between Egypt and British and French leaders after Egyptian President, Gamal Abdel Nasser, had forced British troops to leave and give the Suez Canal into Nassar’s command. Due to this, Eisenhower, who was against the spread of communism, had allowed for U.S. military troops to be sent over so that communism wouldn’t be used, which relates back to the Eisenhower Doctrine and its purpose. Later on, the Eisenhower Doctrine was used and applied to the Lebanon Crisis 1958. This crisis also relates back to communism and the Soviet Union/Threat. The Lebanon Crisis of 1958 was a Lebanese political crisis caused by political and religious tensions between Lebanon and Egypt, and had included U.S. military intervention. The citizens of Lebanon and other leaders, such as Nassar, had questioned their President, Chamille Chamoun, for continuing to have ties with the West, leading to high amounts of tensions between Chamoun and his citizens. Due to the numerous amounts of conflicts arising and the risk of being

Considering the continued growth of Communism on the international stage and the Democratic president Harry S. Truman’s inability to stop events like the Communist takeover of China, the Republican Platform, that President Dwight D. Eisenhower ran on, proposed an exceptionally tougher stance on Communism. The platform had determined mere containment of Communism to be an insufficient solution, so therefore called for military action to reverse the spread of Soviet influence. However, President Eisenhower also promised large budget cuts to the military, so they devised a policy that they believed would cut spending but also increase the effectiveness of the military’s power. The Eisenhower administration announced this policy that called for the creation of a nuclear bomb carrying air fleet, that would be used as a threat to any Communists groups to discourage them from making advances to invade or takeover countries requesting American aid. Eisenhower planned to reverse the growth of Communism by using a superbomber airfleet as an effective weapon against Communism, however, he often failed to follow this initial foreign policy throughout his administration.

The United States had appeared to be dominated by consensus and conformity in the 1950s. As the commotions of the first half of the century ended, people were relieved but faced oncoming internal issues. The Great Depression and the two Great Wars caused people to seek tranquility and harmony. The fifties were the decade of change led by president Eisenhower. During this time the nation was in an up rise in many ways. The economy was booming as the Gross National Product more than doubled from the past decade. Thus there was a rise in consumer spending which had a domino effect on the economy. Though it was unexpected, many issues arrived such as the fear of communism and the suspicion of communists hiding in the government. At this period

Had Dwight David Eisenhower died in 1940, he would have been merely remembered in American history. However, Eisenhower, fortunately, lived until well into his 70s and had the honor of serving as the thirty-fourth president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. He rose from humble beginnings to become Supreme Allied Commander, General of the Army, and ultimately Commander-in-Chief. “Ike”, President Eisenhower’s popular nickname, was born in 1890 and grew up in Abilene, Kansas with his large, poor family. Despite his family being at an economic disadvantage, his parents instilled a great ethic of discipline and yearning for education. Eisenhower’s morals and virtues destined him to a path of success in his life. Even though he wanted to seek

Before he became the president of the United States, General Eisenhower “had not always been such a perfervid anti-communist.” During World War 2, he was on friendly terms with the Russians. Eisenhower “pushed hard for opening a second front in 1942… After the war, he remained confident that U.S.-Soviet friendship would endure.”

Background: In the midst of the Cold War and the Arab-Israeli conflict, conflict arose over Gamal Abdel Nasser’s nationalization of the Suez Canal. This was of particular concern due to Nasser’s increased connection with the Soviet Union, through the Czech Arms agreement and the Aswan Dam. Following Nasser’s nationalization of the Suez Canal, Great Britain, France, and Israel invaded Egypt. In facing this crisis, the U.S. had to consider Cold War politics with the Soviet Union, relations with Arab and Israeli nations, and relations with the invading powers