Hungary
Khrushchev new Soviet policy of "peaceful coexistence" did not extend to Eastern Europe. In November of 1956, Soviet tanks ruthlessly suppressed Hungary's efforts to follow an independence path free from Soviet domination. American administration officials had advocated the liberation of Soviet satellites, and propaganda agencies such as Radio Free Europe and Voice of America had encouraged Eastern Europeans to resist.
Eisenhower, however, decided not to take action to aide the Hungarian freedom fighters since any intervention carried the risk of starting a U.S.- Soviet war that could lead to a nuclear exchange. In the aftermath of the Soviet invasion of Hungary, the Eisenhower administration toned down its rhetoric about liberation and instead emphasized hopes for gradual - and peaceful - progress toward freedom. Détente or an easing of strained relations - was the goal of Eisenhower's administration during the end of his second term. With Détente Eisenhower hoped to produce a treaty banning the testing of nuclear weapons in the atmosphere and oceans. (Image to left of revolutionaries pulling down a statue of Stalin in 1956.) |
U-2 Incident
The détente collapsed, in acrimony and bitterness in a dispute over a U-2 plane. In 1956, Eisenhower had authorized the CIA to begin top-secret intelligence flights over the Soviet Union by using the brand-new high altitude U-2 reconnaissance planes.
At U-2 spy plane would be damaged and crash on May 1, 1960 after being shot by surface-to-air missile. Not knowing that the Soviets had captured the pilot, the State Department and the White House issued a series of cover stories that the Kremlin exposed as lies. Despite his embarrassment, Eisenhower took responsibility for the failed U-2 mission and asserted that the flights were necessary to project national security. Khrushchev tried to exploit the U-2 incident for maximum propaganda value and demanded an apology from the President when they met in Paris. Eisenhower refused, Khrushchev stormed out of the meeting, and the emerging détente became instead an intensified Cold War. Eisenhower was so distraught that he even talked about resigning. |