16.3 The Cold Expands Nuclear Threat

• In 1949, the learned that the now had an atomic bomb. • Communists took over swiftly after, and suddenly the world was more threatening. The

• After this revelation, President Truman ordered the production of a Hydrogen bomb. • For the next four decades, the U.S. and U.S.S.R. stockpiled nuclear , which became known as the Arms Race.

• President Eisenhower continued to stockpile nuclear weapons to back his foreign policy. • His Secretary of , , believed that the only way to discourage communist aggression was to go to the brink of war, an approach known as brinkmanship.

• Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the Soviet Union, continued to spread . • Polish workers rioted against the Soviet Union and gained greater say in their government, but when others tried this approach they were crushed by Khrushchev. • Egypt's president, , wanted to build a dam on the Nile river called the Suez Canal, but because of his communist relations, the U.S. refused to help. • Britain and invaded Egypt and took control of the dam, but withdrew when the U.S. wouldn't support them. Eisenhower

• Eisenhower announced that the U.S. would aid any country threatened by communism. • This was used to silence a revolt against pro-American government in Lebanon. CIA

• Eisenhower also used the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), to help build pro- American governments in Iran and Guatemala. NASA

• In October of 1957, the Soviets launched the satellite Sputnik 1. • Alarmed, Congressed passed legislation to educate more scientists and created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Review Questions

• How were brinkmanship and supposed to deter communist aggression?

By threatening the communists with a massive war. Review Questions

• What three countries were the focus of the Eisenhower Doctrine?

Lebanon, Iran, and Guatemala.