confronted conditions more typical of an extended cold war than those of the Truman years. The most salient of these were the following:
A.
Within weeks of Eisenhower's inauguration, the death of Joseph Stalin brought to a close his nearly 30 years of dictatorship. Eisenhower, therefore, had to reassess the Soviet threat in the context of a post-Stalin Kremlin. How far might the new collective leadership modify Soviet policy and its relations with the outside world? To what extent did Stalin's death present a "chance for peace"?
B.
Eisenhower presided over two revolutions in strategic weapons systems: the advent of nuclear plenty, including the hydrogen bomb, and the emergence of the ballistic missile for both sides. How should this condition of mutual nuclear plenty and missiles affect grand strategy, NATO, and security in general?
C.
For all of its problems Western Europe was recovering and regaining confidence. Yet a divided Germany and Eastern Europe dominated by Moscow seemed almost certain to remain so for years to come. The implications for Europe's stability, its economic and political future, and NATO would be critical in shaping the international environment for the rest of the cold war.
D.
The inexorable collapse of colonialism was rapidly spawning dozens of emerging nations--almost all of which were poor and unstable. Resentful of past Western domination, they seemed to offer fertile soil for Soviet propaganda and subversion. At the same time, the wars of liberation and other manifestations of nationalist hostility severely taxed the resources of America's major allies and created serious tensions within the North Atlantic alliance, particularly between the United States and the colonial powers.
E.
The Korean conflict had shown the difficulty of conducting, and maintaining public support for, a protracted ground war in the developing world. To provide substance to the maxim "No more Koreas," Eisenhower and his advisors had to devise alternatives for dealing with such threats on the periphery.
II
Eisenhower and Dulles were convinced that an effective foreign policy required an explicit and integrated grand strategy. This was not to be a blueprint for the future that would provide mechanical answers for specific issues and problems as they arose. Such issues would be decided in the Oval Office in consultation with key advisors. But a strategic concept should establish longer term purposes and priorities that would ensure consistency in day-to-day decisions and coherence for the actions of the United States and its allies over time.
For Eisenhower, a systematic process was imperative for analyzing alternatives and making sound policy decisions. He designed the National Security Council (NSC) mechanism to obtain the full benefit of the expertise and data from the various departments and agencies, and the judgment and recommendations of his principal advisors and other inputs. In the end, however, after all the staff work, deliberations, and debate, the ultimate strategy reflected the president's own decisions. These decisions, in turn, were molded by the values, beliefs, images, and pre-
-4-
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Publication Information: Book Title: Waging Peace: How Eisenhower Shaped an Enduring Cold War Strategy. Contributors: Robert R. Bowie - author, Richard H. Immerman - author. Publisher: Oxford University Press. Place of Publication: New York. Publication Year: 1998. Page Number: 4.
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