This reliance upon covert operations and high technology to address America’s strategic dilemmas reveals an essential characteristic of the Age of Eisenhower. During the 1950s Eisenhower and the political establishment elevated the scientific “expert” to a position of extraordinary power and prominence. Eisenhower himself disdained partisan politics and preferred to place his trust, and the security of the nation, in a cadre of patriotic scientists, technicians, engineers, and veteran military officers to provide innovative solutions to America’s strategic problems.
