The Role of Eisenhower in the Formation of NATO

The Formation of NATO and the Role of Eisenhower

The author of Eisenhower: The First NATO SACEUR, in his writings based on the formation of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), explains how the establishment of the body was aimed to rearm themselves from military aggression by the Soviet Union. The author brings in the first place that though the treaty was formed, still there was fear among the member countries since they were in a mix of hostility (Bielakowski 95). The authors bring hope for the revival and unity of the NATO members by the appointment of the D. Eisenhower to be the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR). The author goes ahead to explain that Eisenhower for the years of his appointment, he had made NATO be a legitimate military force that Americans and the Europeans supported Faithfully.

The Success of NATO Formation with Eisenhower’s Help

The scholarly works play a crucial role in elaborating how the success of NATO formation was possible with the help of Eisenhower. Eisenhower was successful in bringing the reluctant nations together through his ability in diplomatic and military thump to make countries in Western Europe to reorganize and rearm themselves.

Eisenhower’s Solution to the Threat of Communism

Additionally, the author elaborates on the resistance and the coming up of the communism when the People’s Republic of China joined Korean war, the president then Truman decided to come with an immediate solution to the problem. The solution came from Eisenhower because he saw the world to be profoundly affected by the communists. Eisenhower came up with an idea to ensure that compensation does not cause bankruptcy. In that regard, the decision to rebuild some of the nations that were severely affected was put on the table. Thus, the American decided to rebuild and rearm Japan and West Germany back to their former level (Bielakowski 98). Eisenhower was convinced that the use of the nuclear weapon was not the best option to use against the communism. He had already served in his capacity in 1947 and newer that use such weapons could spark up the communist think that NATO had no good intentions for the nations. The Soviet mobilized strong allies of 175 against the NATOs 17. At that time, NATO was staggering with poverty and the logistics were poorly placed with the threat from the Soviet Union. The situation was the most disadvantaged to NATO. Eisenhower made several trips to NATO nations to help bring unity which was the core formation of the body.

Eisenhower’s Efforts to Promote Unity

The author brings out the efforts which were made to bring unity to all the nations. The writer argues that even in the opening of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), Eisenhower’s speech is brought out clearly by emphasizing on the importance of unity to all the nations (Bielakowski 103). He also had stations of radio in the countries he visited in which he urged unity to the NATO nations. As Eisenhower toured the states, he discovered that the European countries were frustrated and the 350 million of the European countries feared the 190 million that was against the NATO rules and its formation.

Aim and Challenges of NATO

The formation of NATO was aimed to bring peace and understanding among the nations. The NATO body faced challenges in its early stages due to the Soviet Union, which did not want to work with the NATO. The People’s Republican of China also decided to pull off from the NATO body which was a big blow to the organization. The appointment of Eisenhower to be in charge helped to instill and bring hope to the NATO nations.

Work Cited

Bielakowski, Alexander M. “Eisenhower: The First NATO SACEUR.” War & Society 22.2 (2004): 95-108.