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Early in his presidency Dwight Eisenhower made a tough decision about whether to send American troops to fight in Vietnam. America’s ally in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, France, was struggling to retain its colonial empire in Indochina (the associated states of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia). Before becoming president, Ike had quietly urged the French government to grant independence to Indochina, but France had refused to withdraw
Ike retired from the military in 1948 to become President of Columbia University. He
and Mamie settled into a lovely home in New York and were contemplating the
purchase of a farm near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, which they hoped would
eventually become their place of retirement. Neither Ike nor Mamie
were planning to see him put on his Army uniform again and return to war-torn
Europe after only two years as a civilian.
But Eisenhower’s career had been shaped by the West Point credo of “Duty,
Honor, Country,” and he was not about to abandon those values in 1950. During
the previous year, the United States had joined Europe in creating the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to block westward expansion of the Soviet
Union beyond what Winston Churchill characterized as the “Iron Curtain.” The
Treaty envisioned a multi-nation allied military organization to defend against
a Soviet incursion, but at first almost nothing specific had been done to
create this new defense force. Then, in June of 1950, North Korea invaded
the Republic of South Korea. American troops, along with soldiers from
other United Nations member countries, were heavily engaged in fighting the
Communist attack. Security experts in Washington and Europe were deeply
concerned that the Korean War would tempt the Soviets to thrust the Iron
Curtain westward while America was busy fighting in Asia.
In that context, President Truman called Eisenhower to the White House in
the late fall of 1950 and asked him to become Supreme Allied Commander, Europe
(SACEUR). All the member nations of NATO had officially requested Ike’s
services, and Truman saw the appointment as one which might keep America
out of another war by preventing it. Ike didn’t hesitate. He accepted
the President’s proposal.
The most lethal war the world had ever experienced had been over less than
five years when Eisenhower returned to Europe and took command of the
NATO military. He arrived at his Belgian headquarters on the first day of
1951 and found a bare skeleton of the staff he would need. There were no
troops to command.
Europe was still struggling with the devastation of World War II. Most
of its great cities had not even finished clearing all the rubble from their
streets. What little economic recovery had taken place could barely support
people’s basic needs. Even though the NATO nations feared the
further expansion of the Soviet Union, they lacked the means and, at first,
the will to organize a united defense against the powerful Communist forces
on or near their borders. The largest European member nation, France, was
using most of the troops it had to fight in Indo-China (Vietnam) and
to control Algeria. As Ike knew, the European nations and the United
States had committed themselves to the idea of a combined defense, but they
had been unable to develop a joint strategy or a combined force to achieve
their goal.
General Eisenhower immediately began to assemble a NATO headquarters that
would represent all of the member nations. He realized that little would
be accomplished until each European member nation actually committed military
forces to a multinational army. Over the next several months, he personally
met with each head of the twelve NATO nations. His fame as the World
War II Supreme Commander of Allied Forces gave him the stature he needed
when he conferred with those national leaders. He was also helped by
the fact that he already knew most of these leaders from his wartime services. The
NATO country leaders understood Eisenhower and respected his experience in
guiding a multi-national force. They trusted him. His reputation for
honesty, wisdom and respect of others eased his way on every visit.
Gradually and with enduring patience he convinced the NATO political leaders
to commit forces for the combined defense of Europe under a single command.
The talks were difficult. There were many questions concerning command
structure and troop support, and they had to be answered in a manner that
would enable each individual nation to accept this new idea. Over many
centuries Europe had experienced a myriad of alliances, but none had ever
bound all the nations to a single treaty. Trust between the nations
didn’t come easily, but it was gradually and firmly established through
Ike’s diplomacy and leadership during 1951.
Eisenhower’s greatest enduring contribution during his NATO service
was to develop a feeling of partnership and a restoration of confidence among
the European nations. This was an unacknowledged step towards the creation
of today’s European Union.
Before returning to the United States Ike commented on the uniqueness of
NATO’s armed forces, “In all of history this is the first time
that an Allied Headquarters has been set up in peace to preserve the peace,
and not to wage war. It is our prayer that with high courage, and with
the support of our people, and the grace of God, we shall not fail in this
purpose.” Indeed, NATO did not fail. Peace—Eisenhower’s
goal—was preserved and mankind was spared another world war. |
