Eisenhower’s strategy of deterrence encountered some unexpected trouble late in the evening of April 4. At about 9:45 p.m. the State Department received a cable from Ambassador Douglas Dillon in Paris, reporting that he had been summoned by Prime Minister Laniel and Foreign Minister Bidault. “They said,” Dillon wrote, “that immediate armed intervention of U.S. carrier aircraft at Dien Bien Phu is now necessary to save the situation.” The Viet Minh were bringing in massive reinforcements and the garrison was in grave jeopardy. The French government was seeking to cash in the chip that Radford
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