President Eisenhower's Domino Theory

Eisenhower was the first president to use the term "Domino Theory". By early 1954, many U.S. policymakers that the french were failing in their attempt to re-establish colonial control in Indochina, which they lost during WW2 when the Japanese took control of the area. The Vietnamese nationalist, led by the communist Ho Chi Minh, were on the verge of winning a stunning victory against French forces at the battle of Dien Bien Phu. In just a few weeks, representative from the world’s powers were scheduled to meet in Geneva to discuss a political settlement of the Vietnamese conflict. U.S. officials were concerned that a victory by Ho’s forces and an agreement in Geneva might leave a communist regime in control of all or part of Vietnam.

In an attempt to rally congressional and public support for increased U.S. aid to the French, President Eisenhower gave an historic press conference on April 7, 1954. Eisenhower spent much of the speech explaining the significance of Vietnam to the United States. First was its economic importance, “ the specific value of a locality in its produce of materials that the world needs”. There was also the “possibility that

“A new regime in Iraq would serve as a dramatic and inspiring example of freedom to other nations in the region,” he stated to thunderous applause from the invitation-only audience. The President’s theme was swiftly taken up by others, Vice President Dick Cheney raised it on several television talk shows. The civil war in Algeria, following the apparent victory of the Islamists in the 1992 elections, is an example of how democratic elections can be taken over by religious parties opposed to the United States, the document states, “Liberal democracy will be difficult to achieve and electoral democracy, were it to emerge, could well be subject to exploitation by anti-American