Dulles over Suez: The Theory and Practice of His Diplomacy

Chicago, IL: Quadrangle Books, 1964. First edition. First printing [stated]. Hardcover. Good/good. xix, [3], 538, xiv, [2] pages. Ports., maps (on lining papers) 25 cm. Notes. Publications. Index. DJ has some wear, soiolilng, and edge tears and chips. From Wikipedia: "John Foster Dulles (February 25, 1888 May 24, 1959) served as U.S. Secretary of State under Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959. He was a significant figure in the early Cold War era, advocating an aggressive stance against communism throughout the world. He negotiated numerous treaties and alliances that reflected this point of view. He advocated support of the French in their war against the Viet Minh in Indochina but rejected the Geneva Accords that France and the Communists agreed to, and instead supported South Vietnam after the Geneva Conference in 1954....When Dwight Eisenhower became President in January, 1953, Dulles was appointed and confirmed as his Secretary of State. As Secretary of State, Dulles still carried out the containment policy of neutralizing the Taiwan Strait during the Korean War, which had been established by President Truman in the Treaty of Peace with Japan of 1951. Dulles also supervised the completion of the Japanese Peace Treaty, in which full independence was restored to Japan under United States terms. As Secretary of State, Dulles spent considerable time building up NATO and forming other alliances (a phenomenon described as his "Pactomania") as part of his strategy of controlling Soviet expansion by threatening massive retaliation in event of a war. In 1950, he worked alongside Richard Nixon to reduce the French influence in Vietnam as well as asking the United States to attempt to cooperate with the French in the aid of strengthening Diem's Army. Over time Dulles concluded that it was time to "ease France out of Vietnam". In 1950 he also helped instigate the ANZUS Treaty for mutual protection with Australia and New Zealand. Dulles strongly opposed communism, believing it was "Godless terrorism". One of his first major policy shifts towards a more aggressive position against communism occurred in March 1953, when Dulles supported Eisenhower's decision to direct the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), then headed by his brother Allen Dulles, to draft plans to overthrow the Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh in Iran. This led directly to the coup d'etat via Operation Ajax in support of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran. In 1954, Dulles became the architect of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). The treaty, agreed to by representatives of Australia, Britain, France, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand and the United States, provided for collective action against aggression. In 1953-54 Dulles supported Eisenhower's decision to use the CIA to help rebels in Guatemala overthrow the government, which Washington thought was veering toward Communist control. Dulles played a minor role. Dulles was named Time's Man of the Year for 1954. Dulles was one of the pioneers of massive retaliation and brinkmanship. In an article written for Life magazine, Dulles defined his policy of brinkmanship: "The ability to get to the verge without getting into the war is the necessary art." Dulles' hard-line alienated many leaders in the non-aligned movement, many of whom were upset when on June 9, 1956, he argued in one speech that "neutrality has increasingly become an obsolete and, except under very exceptional circumstances, it is an immoral and shortsighted conception." Throughout the 1950s Dulles was in frequent conflict with those non-aligned statesmen he deemed excessively sympathetic to Communism, including India's V.K. Krishna Menon. In November 1956, Dulles was strongly opposed to the Anglo-French invasion of Egypt in response to the Suez Crisis, although during the most crucial days he was hospitalized after surgery and did not participate in U.S. decision-making. By 1958 Dulles had become an outspoken opponent of Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and prevented him from receiving arms from the United States. This policy enabled the Soviet Union to gain influence in the Middle East.