Along the Iron Curtain of Eastern Europe and across the battle linesof northern Asia, the Soviet-American cold war settled into an uneasy stalemate.But World War II had also disrupted Europe’s colonial relationships. As nationalistsin the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia fought to gain independence,the two superpowers competed for their allegiance. Across the globe theEisenhower administration sought ways to prevent the Soviet Union from capturing national independence movements. To do so, it sometimes used the treat of nuclear warto block Communist expansion in Europe or Asia.
Korea, Taiwan, Indochina – to Dulles and Eisenhower, the crisis in Asia and elsewhere could all be traced back to the Soviet dictatorship. Yet American policy could not simply anti-communist. Nationalist movements around the globe were leading nations like India to declare themselves neutral or nonaligned. They could not just sit on the fence. They must choose either the free world or the communist block. Concern was growing over countries joining the communist block.
Given the unstable situation in the Middle East, Eisenhower convinced Congressto give him the authority to use force against any Communist attack in thatregion. What became known as the Eisenhower Doctrine in effectallowed the president in times of crisis to preempt Congress’s powerto declare war. In 1958 he used that power to send U.S. marines into Lebanon,a small nation that claimed to have been infiltrated by Nasser’s supporters. Sinceno fighting had yet occurred, sunbathers on the beaches of Beirut, Lebanon’s capital, were startled as 5000 combat clad marines stormed ashore. In the end, the crisis blew over, and the American forces withdrew.Dulles claimed that theUnited States had once again turned back the Communist drive into the emergingnations. In reality, nationalism more than communism had been at the rootof Middle Eastern turmoil.
During the 1952 election, Republicans exploited the stalemate in Korea, the fallof China, and the fear of domestic communism to suggest that the Democratscould not protect the nation’s security. Once elected, Kennedy was determinednot to be seen as soft on communism. The cold war contest, he argued, hadshifted from the traditional struggle over Europe to the developing nations inAsia, Africa, and Latin America. The United States should be armed with a moreflexible range of military and economic options. Civil disobedience was the center turmoil at home.
The Alliance for Progress, announced in the spring of 1961, reflected theKennedy approach. He promised to provide $20 billion in foreign aid to LatinAmerica over 10 years—about four times the aid given under Eisenhower.In return, Latin American nations would agree to reform unfair tax policiesand begin agricultural land reforms. If successful, the alliance woulddiscourage future Castro-style revolutions. Kennedy established the Peace Corps to send men and women overseas to assist developing countries in meeting their own needs.
Kennedy built up the armed forces ground troops and signed the Partial Test Ban Treaty with the Soviet Union. This treaty agreed that both countries would stop all nuclear testing in the atmosphere and limit it to underground.
