Episode 46: Atomic Diplomacy looks at the fascinating tactic supposedly made use of by the Eisenhower administration in the first half of 1953. This policy of threatening nuclear war if the communists did not see sense worked, so the conventional account suggests, and it worked because NSC68 had so empowered American defensive capabilities. However, as we’ll see in this episode, Eisenhower’s tactic was neither completely successful nor was it unprecedented. In fact, to set the background by what we mean when we talk about atomic diplomacy, in this episode we’ll examine not Eisenhower’s, but Truman’s consistent approach to that weapon in diplomatic negotiations, while we also assess the general perspective of the political and military staffs of the early 1950s.

The result is a surprising but also critically important set of take aways – not only was Truman unsuccessful in his efforts to bluster with the atomic bomb, he also learned from these failures, and refrained from threatening the communists from spring 1951. This gap enabled the Eisenhower administration, or more accurately John Foster Dulles, to claim that the new brand of atomic diplomacy was a great success, and played a leading role in ending the war. The truth, as we’ll learn, was far from so straightforward.

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Music used:

“Take Me Out To The Ball-game”, by the Hayden Quartet released in 1908. This classic should be familiar to everyone, even those like myself who don’t know what’s going on if they watch a baseball game! Available: http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Hadyn_Quartet/Antique_Phonograph_Music_Program_04212015/Take_Me_Out_to_the_Ballgame_-_Hadyn_Quartet 

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