Eisenhower and 'Massive Retaliation' the Doctrine of Term Paper

Eisenhower and 'massive retaliation'

The Doctrine of Massive Retaliation

This doctrine came about due to the fact that then-President Eisenhower wanted to reduce the expenditures that were taking place for the defense of the country (Gilpatric, 136). Since the Doctrine of Massive Retaliation was based largely on the threat of the use of nuclear weapons, the military forces that were needed were fewer, thus reducing the amount that was spent, and causing the defense budget to fall by over 25% during the first two years of the Eisenhower presidency (Schlesinger, 104). The main purpose and goal of the doctrine of massive retaliation was to stop other countries from using any kind of nuclear weapon on the United States.A secondary purpose and goal was to ensure that no other countries took any kind of offensive action toward U.S. interests in other parts of the world, even if these actions were smaller in scale and not related to nuclear weapons. Much of the threat and the feeling behind this particular doctrine was directed toward the Soviet Union, which was the greatest enemy of the U.S. during that time (Cottrell, 86).

This particular policy also had many affects on the relationship that the United States had with its allies.….....