Eisenhower, a lifelong student of strategy, knew that deterrence could succeed in keeping the peace only if it was backed by a willingness to use force. He wanted to keep America out of war, but perhaps the best way to do that was to prepare for it. That meant sounding out Congress. On April 1, 1954, shortly after a meeting of his National Security Council, Eisenhower tasked the secretary of state to consult congressional leaders: How much appetite did they have for conflict in Southeast Asia? Would they support the use of American forces there? If Ike could tell the world that Congress had
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