"Through a reliance on nuclear weapons, President Eisenhower hoped to provide a defense strategy that would allow the U.S. to maintain its security requirements without creating an economic burden. The U.S. required European missile bases to deploy its intermediate range ballistic missiles. Deploying such missiles to Europe required balancing regional European concerns with U.S. domestic security priorities. "-- Provided by publisher.

Creating the new look: Project Solarium and the intellectual foundation of the new look defense policy -- Many strands into one rope: creating a unified defense policy -- Resistance to massive retaliation: the arguments against massive retaliation and the deficiencies in Eisenhower's national security policies -- The development of IRBMS -- The Suez crisis and Bermuda Conference reconciliation -- A European solution to an American problem: Eisenhower's initial reaction to the Soviet launch of Sputnik -- The U.S.-U.K. IRBM Agreement -- Unintended consequences.