Foreign Affairs

Under the Eisenhower administration the United States had two chief international aims: (1) to prevent the Cold War from becoming a full-scale shooting war and (2) to strengthen the non-Communist nations of the world.

At first, the administration's approach to the Cold War was mainly in terms of military strength. In 1954 the United States helped found the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). By a treaty with the Republic of China on Taiwan, the United States was pledged to defend Taiwan and certain nearby islands against attack by Communist China. By 1955 the United States negotiated and signed mutual security agreements that bound it to come to the defense of 44 countries. In 1957 Congress approved the Eisenhower Doctrine, pledging military assistance to Middle Eastern countries requesting it. The doctrine was put into effect in 1958 when United States marines and paratroopers landed in Lebanon.

Cold War tensions relaxed in 1955 when the leaders of the Big Four—Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and the United States—met at Geneva, Switzerland. Also in that year, the four powers agreed to restore the independence of Austria and end their occupation of that country. In 1956, the United States condemned the Soviets' suppression of a revolt in Hungary, but joined with them in securing a cease-fire following the Anglo-French-Israeli invasion of Egypt. The United States and the Soviet Union held no nuclear tests during 1958-60. In 1959 Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev visited the United States and met with President Eisenhower.

In 1960, shortly before a scheduled meeting of the Big Four leaders at Paris, an American U-2 photo-reconnaissance plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. Demanding an end to American spy flights, Khrushchev refused to meet with Eisenhower and canceled a planned Presidential tour of the Soviet Union.