Eisenhower's massive retaliation doctrine: nuclear deterrence and alliance relations

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. While some believed that they were much safer being allied with the United States when this type of policy was in place, there were others that believed that this type of massive retaliatory policy went much farther than it really needed to in order to keep the U.S. And its allies safe from harm (Kaufmann, 25). The Doctrine caused problems within the U.S. military as well, since its design relied very heavily on the Navy and the Air Force, while seemingly pushing the Army out of the way (Trewhitt, 81). This brought bad feelings into the minds and hearts of many U.S. individuals, both military and civilian. In later years, the doctrine was changed somewhat so that nuclear weapons would be used only in a full-out war and only under the most dire of circumstances.