ABSTRACT
Dwight D. Eisenhower scholars have continually drawn a clear line from his time as the Supreme Allied Commander for Allied Forces during the Second World War to his time in the presidency. The strengths Eisenhower exhibited as a general were to serve him well as president. Foreign leaders who dealt with Eisenhower understood who was in charge of policy at the White House. Eisenhower’s policy revolved around the idea of a preponderance of power as a means of deterring war. A Soviet invasion of Western Europe was something that worried Eisenhower and others, but it was not their primary concern. Eisenhower’s approach to dealing with the Soviet Union is generally encapsulated in what came to be known as the New Look Security Policy. Eisenhower’s position on holding a summit with Stalin or any other Soviet leader has been a sticking point for many historians. Eisenhower finally agreed to a summit in Geneva in 1955.
