While the press responded with hearty praise for Eisenhower’s “dramatic,” “eloquent,” and “moving” address, the Soviets quite predictably called his bluff, responding that instead of discussing nuclear sharing, the Great Powers should agree to ban all atomic weapons. Since the United States had no interest in halting atomic weapons production, the Soviet counteroffer was swatted away, and the arms race continued unabated. Indeed it might be asked: Was Eisenhower really committed to moderating the cold war or to altering his recently designed cold war strategy? The evidence suggests he was not.
