Friends in Foes

Russia and the USA under Eisenhower 

Finding peace:

Be my friend 

·     They agreed that Berlin was abnormal and that modifications were needed 

·     Eisenhower was prepared to make concessions 

·     He had managed to avoid the crisis by denying that it existed 

·     Eisenhower had opted for peace and was worried about the danger of turning America into a garrison state 

·     The more that was spent on nuclear weapon meant more that the USSR would make so in turn it would only make the US more unsafe 

·     Eisenhower also didn’t want to unbalance the budget as he feared it would lead to making the cost of the Cold War more than America could bear 

·     Eisenhower’s term was drawing to a close and he wanted to leave the gift of peace

·     The two however were anxious to solidify the concept of peaceful coexistence

Why they couldn’t call it a day:

·     The cold war had gone on so long that calling it off was no easy task 

·     Both had to fend off hard-liners at home 

·     Both had troubles with allies and had Third World problems that neither could control 

·     Both had gone too far to and peace wouldn’t please their own people let alone allies

Pressures Eisenhower faced:

·     The Democrats wanted more spending on defence, it would help no hurt the economy 

·     Senators wanted a dynamic president and that Eisenhower lost American prestige

·     They wanted to restore the American world leadership and increase arms 

·     The Republicans wanted more liberation and to get tough with communism 

Pressures Khrushchev faced:

·     Mao was calling for wars of national liberation and he challenged the USSR communist leadership 

·     Khrushchev was criticised for his trip to the US and his willingness to go to the summit 

·     The cooling of the Berlin crisis angered many

·     Khrushchev was accused of appeasement 

·     China indirectly also challenged the bipolar world; the world is too large and diverse to be controlled by only two superpowers 

·     Khrushchev was in a weaker position as Eisenhower was so well respected, but he didn’t have this prestige 

·     It was difficult to ward off the criticism of the Kremlin who wanted more arms and something done about Berlin 

·     He badly needed the cold war victory to compete with the china leadership challenge 

Playing dirty:

·     On 5^thMay 1960 on the eve of the Paris summit meeting the Russians surface-to-air missile (SAM) knocked down a U-2 spy plane 

·     This was proof that the USSR didn’t want peace as they could have kept quiet until after the summit, not shot until after the summit 

·     Instead of peace they deliberately embarrassed the president, he boasted about the SAM but left out the fact that the pilot survived 

·     Eisenhower had fallen into the trap and Khrushchev demanded an apology, but Eisenhower said that they had a right to spy on the USSR and that he took full personal responsibility for the flight 

·     The summit conference was ruined and broke up at the opening meeting 

Did it paying off for Khrushchev?

·     It improved his position at home and with the Chinese but not by much 

·     It came at the cost of losing an opportunity to end the cold war