Quote:
Originally Posted by cncracer
I still see a great potential of a nuclear device being used in the world today. Looking at the lost nuclear material from the Russians alone and the radical religious groups all over the world I fear it is not “will it happen but when we will have to live through it”.
Eisenhower was well know for letting his staff plan and at times set in motion the issues which would have been political issues. His history looked like just golf until years after his death.
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Don't underestimate Ike's political savvy. He wasn't too busted up over Sputnik since it resolved the issue of satellite reconnaissance. Publicly he took a beating on this, as the “Russians beat us into space”. Within his administration he also was prodded by the military to launch satellites as they knew a year in advance that they were also working on satellites. He held off, saying that civilian ran NASA will be the US’s peaceful foray into space.
By the Soviets launching their satellite first and having it fly over the US, they could not object to future US spy satellites over flying the USSR. He congratulated the Soviets on their accomplishment since they established the policy of "open skies", and we would “react” to their actions via peaceful NASA. Little did they know, spy satellites were on his agenda all along.
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