Jonah Patel
John Foster Dulles, appointed Secretary of State by President Dwight Eisenhower in 1953, was a significant figure in the early Cold War era. Dulles was a staunch anti-communist and believed in a policy of containment to stop the spread of communism. This policy was consolidated during his tenure, with the US ratifying several treaties designed to encircle the Soviet Union and its allies. Dulles was also a strong advocate for the use of massive retaliation and brinksmanship to maintain peace, threatening the use of nuclear weapons against the PRC during the Taiwan Strait crisis. He was also instrumental in the coup d'état in Iran, which overthrew Prime Minister Mossadegh. Dulles' close relationship with Eisenhower and his brother, CIA Director Allen Dulles, gave him unprecedented access to the President and ensured the smooth implementation of Eisenhower's strategic approach.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Eisenhower's goal with the Dulles diplomacy | To consolidate the policy of containment, including the encircling of the Soviet Union and its allies through a series of bilateral and multilateral treaties. |
| Eisenhower's approach to national security policy | The "New Look", which included maintaining economic vitality, relying on nuclear weapons to deter Communist aggression, using the CIA for covert actions, and strengthening alliances with non-aligned governments. |
| Dulles' role in Eisenhower's administration | Dulles was Eisenhower's most influential foreign policy adviser and a staunch anti-communist. He was also responsible for originating foreign policy and ensuring the credibility of the nuclear threat by portraying the Russian challenge in Manichean terms. |
| Dulles' characteristics as a diplomat | Detractors viewed him as harsh, inflexible, and a tactician, while supporters credited his firmness with checking Communist Cold War strategy. |
| Dulles' policy views | Containment, international mutual security agreements, and "massive retaliation". |
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What You'll Learn
Eisenhower's goal: Containment of communism
Eisenhower's goal with the Dulles diplomacy was to contain communism and maintain peace through international mutual security agreements. John Foster Dulles, appointed Secretary of State by President Eisenhower in 1953, was a staunch anti-communist and played a significant role in shaping US foreign policy during the Cold War. He viewed his appointment as a mandate to originate foreign policy and was an assiduous planner.
Dulles believed in the concept of ""massive retaliation"" and "brinksmanship," associating himself with the idea of using atomic weapons to end conflicts, as seen in the Korean War and the Suez Canal crisis. He also advocated for close cooperation between the State Department and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which was run by his brother, Allen Dulles.
During the Eisenhower years, the United States consolidated the policy of containment, ratifying treaties like CENTO and SEATO and forging security agreements with countries like Japan, South Korea, and the Philippines. Dulles was a key advocate of global containment, tirelessly working to ensure its success.
Eisenhower's defense policies reflected this focus on containment, emphasizing the use of nuclear weapons to deter Communist aggression and relying on the CIA to carry out covert actions against Soviet-controlled governments. The consensus on containment allowed for a reduction in conventional weapons and troops while maintaining peace through mutual security agreements.
Despite criticism of Dulles as being harsh and inflexible, Eisenhower valued his firmness in checking Communist strategy during the Cold War. Their strong friendship and personal ties with his brother, Allen, ensured a smooth implementation of their strategic approach to containing communism.
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Dulles' role in Eisenhower's foreign policy
John Foster Dulles was appointed Secretary of State by President Eisenhower in January 1953. Dulles was Eisenhower's most influential foreign policy adviser and the architect of many major elements of US foreign policy in the Cold War with the Soviet Union.
Dulles was a staunch anti-communist. He believed that nations were either part of the "Free World" or part of the Soviet bloc, with no grey area in between. He was a strong advocate of global containment and travelled the world tirelessly to ensure its success. He was also responsible for the Eisenhower administration's policy of "massive retaliation" and "brinksmanship", which involved the use of atomic weapons as a deterrent to Communist aggression. In 1954, he threatened the Chinese and North Korean communist powers with the United States' atomic arsenal unless they signed the Korean armistice.
Dulles' time as Secretary of State was marked by a consensus in US policy that peace could be maintained through the containment of communism. This allowed him and Eisenhower to secure international mutual security agreements, such as the Central Treaty Organization (CENTO) and the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), while reducing the number of troops in the US military and the production of conventional weapons. Dulles also ensured close cooperation between the Department of State and the Central Intelligence Agency, which was run by his brother, Allen Dulles.
Dulles was also responsible for formulating the Eisenhower Doctrine, which was an expression of his foreign policy views: containment and international mutual security agreements reinforced by economic aid. He confronted many foreign policy challenges during his tenure, including the integration of Europe, the escalation of the crisis in Indochina, the US response to the Hungarian Revolution, and the Suez Canal crisis of 1956.
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Dulles' aggressive anti-communist stance
John Foster Dulles was appointed Secretary of State by President Eisenhower on January 21, 1953. Dulles was a staunch anti-communist and drew a sharp line between nations that were part of the "Free World" and those that were part of the Soviet bloc. He had no time for neutralism or non-alignment.
One of his first major policy shifts towards a more aggressive position against communism occurred in March 1953, when he supported Eisenhower's decision to direct the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), then headed by his brother Allen Dulles, to draft plans to overthrow the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran, Mohammed Mossadegh. This directly led to the coup d'état via Operation Ajax in support of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, who was reinstated as the Shah of Iran.
Dulles was also instrumental in the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état and supported the French in their war against the communist Viet Minh forces in Indochina. He rejected the Geneva Accords between France and the communists, instead opting to support South Vietnam after the 1954 Geneva Conference. He also designed the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), an anti-communist defensive alliance between the U.S. and several nations in and near Southeast Asia.
Dulles was a pioneer of the strategies of "massive retaliation" and "brinksmanship", even claiming that he had ended the Korean War and avoided a larger conflict by threatening the use of America's atomic arsenal. He was also responsible for the formulation of the Eisenhower Doctrine, which was an expression of his foreign policy views: containment and international mutual security agreements reinforced by economic aid.
Dulles' anti-communist stance extended beyond his foreign policy views. He believed that communist infiltration was a threat to national security and worked to discredit Senator Joseph McCarthy's investigations into the CIA. He also established intelligence networks worldwide to counter Soviet and eastern European communist advances, as well as international communist movements.
Despite criticism from some who viewed him as harsh and inflexible, many leading statesmen of the non-Communist nations credited Dulles' firmness with checking Communist Cold War strategy.
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Eisenhower's nuclear deterrence strategy
The "New Look" policy, introduced by Eisenhower in 1953, emphasised the use of nuclear weapons as a deterrent against Communist aggression. This strategy involved relying on nuclear weapons to counter any Communist threats or, if necessary, to engage in a war. Eisenhower's administration believed in maintaining a "massive capability to strike back" if attacked, while also seeking to reduce conventional forces and increase spending on the Air Force and nuclear weapons development.
Furthermore, Eisenhower's nuclear deterrence strategy was influenced by his experience as Supreme Allied Commander during World War II. He was known for his organisational skills and sought to integrate the Department of State into the NSC's structured system of policy review. The NSC, with Eisenhower often in attendance, debated policy options and made decisions that were sent as recommendations to the President. This structured approach to policy-making contributed to the development and implementation of Eisenhower's nuclear deterrence strategy.
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Dulles' contribution to the Korean War
John Foster Dulles was appointed Secretary of State by President Eisenhower on 21 January 1953. Dulles' time as Secretary of State was marked by conflict with communist governments worldwide, especially the Soviet Union, and he was a staunch anti-communist. He believed that peace could be maintained through the containment of communism.
Dulles was a key figure in the Korean War. In a 1954 speech, he said that the United States would meet Soviet provocations not necessarily where they occurred but where the United States chose, based on its "deterrent of massive retaliatory power". In a 1956 interview with Life magazine, Dulles claimed that he had warned the Chinese and the North Koreans that unless the communist powers signed the Korean armistice, the United States would unleash its atomic arsenal. He claimed that by moving to the brink of atomic war, he ended the Korean War and avoided a larger conflict. From that point on, Dulles was associated with the concepts of "massive retaliation" and "brinksmanship".
Dulles was also the architect of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), an anti-communist defensive alliance between the US and several nations in and near Southeast Asia. He helped instigate the 1953 Iranian coup d'état and the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état. In addition, he advocated support for the French in their war against the Viet Minh in Indochina.
Dulles' time as Secretary of State was also marked by close cooperation between the Department of State and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which was run by his brother, Allen Dulles. He also had direct and unprecedented access to President Eisenhower. Dulles resigned from his position in April 1959 due to poor health and died in May 1959.
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Frequently asked questions
Eisenhower's goal with the Dulles diplomacy was to contain communism and maintain peace. This involved a focus on international mutual security agreements, reducing conventional weapons and troops, and relying on nuclear weapons as a deterrent.
The Dulles brothers, John Foster Dulles and Allen Dulles, were the architects of Eisenhower's Cold War strategy. John Foster Dulles served as Secretary of State under Eisenhower, and his brother Allen served as the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Eisenhower's "New Look" policy aimed to maintain economic vitality while building strength to fight the Cold War, relying on nuclear weapons and covert operations to deter Communist aggression.
John Foster Dulles threatened China and North Korea with the United States' atomic arsenal unless they signed the Korean armistice. He believed that this brinksmanship ended the Korean War and avoided a larger conflict.
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