Chapter 12: Eisenhower’s Resolute Anti-Communism and the Beginning of the U.S.–Soviet Cold War (Part II)

Under these grave circumstances, on November 1 Nagy courageously announced Hungary’s withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact, declaring the country a neutral democratic state. He appealed to the United Nations to safeguard Hungary’s neutral status. Eight thousand political prisoners were released. Nearly 30 percent of towns nationwide established revolutionary councils, took over the Communist government, and burned communist books. Across the country, 2,100 workers’ councils were formed, taking control of factories.

On November 4, Soviet forces launched “Operation Whirlwind,” deploying 100,000 troops in a renewed large-scale invasion of Hungary to carry out comprehensive suppression. The Soviets declared that they had disarmed twelve Hungarian divisions as well as all armored and air force units. In the capital, 15,000 resistance fighters engaged in fierce combat with Soviet troops. Nationwide resistance did not end until November 14.

The nationwide Hungarian uprising, carried out without any international support, ended in complete failure. Twenty-six thousand people were arrested and tried, twenty-two thousand were imprisoned, and 350 were executed. Two hundred thousand fled to countries in Europe and North America. Nagy was arrested and executed in 1958.

Only on November 5, 1956, did U.S. President Eisenhower belatedly send a letter to the Soviet Union, expressing shock at Soviet actions in Hungary and demanding an immediate withdrawal. Condemnation after the fact amounted to little more than empty rhetoric. Precisely because the United States did nothing substantive in the face of the Soviet invasion of Hungary—offering only words—the Soviet Union was able to act with impunity. Totalitarianism is a system built on an inversion of human logic, one that breaks through every moral boundary. Totalitarianism does not understand rational voices; it understands only the sound of guns.

In 1957, a pro-communist coup occurred in Jordan, nearly triggering large-scale conflict. Eisenhower dispatched the Sixth Fleet to the Mediterranean to support the Jordanian king in restoring order. He pushed Congress to pass his “Middle East Military Assistance and Cooperation Plan,” authorizing the president to use force against international communist armed aggression and to provide $400 million in economic aid. This plan became known as the “Eisenhower Doctrine,” and it gained the support and participation of thirteen Middle Eastern countries. In 1958, armed rebellion broke out in Lebanon. At the president’s request, Eisenhower sent U.S. troops to protect government operations. With subsequent United Nations intervention, the situation in Lebanon was stabilized.

Thereafter, the “Eisenhower Doctrine” expanded beyond the Middle East. In 1958, Mao Zedong again launched artillery bombardments of Kinmen. Chiang Kai-shek urgently deployed 100,000 troops for defense and requested U.S. support. President Eisenhower issued a statement: “The United States will not abandon its responsibilities toward Taiwan.” Mao Zedong saw the outcome he most dreaded: the White House moved swiftly to intervene. The U.S. Sixth Fleet and four destroyers were redeployed from the Mediterranean to Taiwan to join the Seventh Fleet, while another aircraft carrier and several destroyers arrived from Pearl Harbor. With U.S. support for Taiwan, Chiang was able to reinforce Kinmen.

What made Mao Zedong even more anxious was a policy statement from the White House declaring that the United States had an obligation to defend Taiwan. President Eisenhower convened a special meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, proposing not only escort operations but also that, if the Chinese Communists launched a large-scale attack, the United States would assist Chiang in striking Communist coastal military bases. If the Communists attacked Taiwan, the president would decide on the use of nuclear weapons, making Mao Zedong regret it, even at great risk. This situation bears some resemblance to today’s tensions in the Taiwan Strait. The Chinese Communist Party has not renounced the use of force to “liberate” Taiwan, with aircraft repeatedly entering Taiwan’s air defense identification zone and engaging in military provocations. History seems to be entering yet another vicious cycle.

Mao Zedong realized that the international struggle was complex and severe. He ordered that U.S. forces not be attacked and prepared to resume negotiations with the United States. Seeing that the United States was prepared to escalate from escort missions to the possible use of atomic weapons, the Soviet Union grew anxious. Khrushchev telephoned the Soviet embassy in China, saying he was prepared to send Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko secretly to Beijing for talks. When Gromyko arrived, Mao Zedong brazenly claimed that if U.S. forces used nuclear weapons, China would lure the enemy deep inland, retreat to Yan’an, and then ask the Soviet Union to strike U.S. forces with atomic bombs.

Abandoning Stalin’s approach, Khrushchev visited the United States in 1959. Eisenhower welcomed him, and the two issued a statement expressing America’s willingness to pursue peaceful coexistence and peaceful competition, defeating communism through competition.

In 1960, Eisenhower visited Taiwan, meeting with Chiang Kai-shek to discuss anti-communist strategy and reaffirming strengthened Sino–American mutual defense. Taiwan became America’s anti-communist outpost in the Far East.

During his eight years in office, Eisenhower vigorously developed the strategic air force, initiated a nuclear arms competition with the Soviet Union, supported all anti-communist and anti-Soviet countries, and resisted the expansion of communism in poor nations. He warned of the “domino effect,” arguing that if communism succeeded in Vietnam, it would cause Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, and others to fall into communist hands.

Zhong Wen concludes: On the eve of leaving office in 1961, Eisenhower delivered his farewell address, stating, “We face a hostile communist ideology, ruthless in its aims and insidious in its methods. Even at the cost of sacrifice, we must shoulder the burden of struggle. America’s ultimate goal in leading the world is to eliminate the threat of communism, so that the world may enjoy peace and humanity a better future, to live or perish together with freedom.” Had Eisenhower been president during the Truman era, communism might well have exited the stage of history long ago.