ABSTRACT
Dwight Eisenhower failed a big test of his leadership in the U-2 incident. He showed bad judgment in scheduling the ill-timed overflight just before a key superpower summit meeting, which was extremely provocative to the Kremlin. He failed to adapt to changing circumstances when he continued to lie about the incident after the plane was shot down, damaging his credibility at home and abroad. The episode turned into a debacle for the United States and caused a serious setback to superpower relations.
