Humanity Hanging from a Cross of Iron: Eisenhower's Forgotten Warning on the True Cost of War

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."--Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953

"Mankind must put an end to war before war puts an end to mankind."

—JFK

First Atlas test launch, 1957*

The Eisenhower quote above is from a speech President Eisenhower gave on April 16 1953 six weeks after the death of Josef Stalin. It's been alternately called "The Chance for Peace" and the "Cross of Iron" speech. In this address Eisenhower called for global de-escalation and cooperative security as opposed to the Soviet Union's reliance on military force and regional dominance. 

In the middle of the speech Eisenhower notes that the prohibitive cost of armaments represents a theft from humanity, diverting resources from essential needs like healthcare, education, and infrastructure. He challenges the new Soviet leadership to prove their desire for peace through concrete actions, such as ending hostilities in Asia and supporting a unified, free Europe. Ultimately, the speech proposes a global fund for reconstruction, fueled by the savings from disarmament, to wage a "total war" against poverty and hunger rather than against other nations.

He then became quite specific on what increased military spending actually eant. The cost of modern armaments should not be understood as a line item in a budget, but as a direct sacrifice of human well-being. 

One modern heavy bomber (in 1953) cost the equivalent of a modern brick school in more than 30 cities; or two electric power plants, each serving a town of 60,000 people; or two fine, fully equipped hospitals; or 50 miles of concrete highway.

One fighter plane cost the same as a half million bushels of wheat.

One destroyer could have built new homes for more than 8,000 people.**

This reframing was timeless because it pierced the abstract veil of national security budgets in order to force a moral reckoning. Eisenhower was not just making an economic point; he was arguing that a nation's true strength is measured in the well-being of its people, not the sophistication of its arsenal. To reiterate: "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."

Eisenhower’s speech was a direct and powerful appeal to choose a different future. The world faced a choice between the "dread road" of fear and arms and the "highway of peace" built upon a total war against poverty and need. His proposal was to dedicate the world's strength, resources, and imagination "to serving the needs, rather than the fears, of the world." The monuments to this new kind of war, he said, would be "roads and schools, hospitals and homes, food and health." 

It was as if the backbone of Eisenhower's speech was taken from Robert Frost's famous poem The Road Not Taken. There are two roads ahead, he said. We'd like you, leaders in the Kremlin, to join us as we stroll down the path of peace. It's the Kremlin's responsibility to choose correctly. 

How did this speech ultimately play out?  

As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. The U.S. stockpile grew rapidly in the 1950s due to expanded fissile material production and thermonuclear weapon development starting in 1954. Production rates accelerated in the late 1950s, exceeding 7,000 warheads per year in 1959–1960. The Soviet Union's nuclear weapons collection grew much slower so that by the end of the decade the U.S. had nearly 10 times as many bombs and missiles as the Soviets.

While making a public appeal for peace, the U.S. was simultaneously taking clandestine measures to overthrow foreign leaders we didn't like. In 1953 we overthrew the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iran in Operation Ajax. The following year we took down the democratically elected President Arbeniz of Guatemala. 

In 1956 and 57 the CIA, with British and Turkish intelligence, attempted military takeovers, assassinations, staged incidents, propaganda, and bribes to topple pro-Nasser governments under President Shukri al-Quwatly and successors in Syria. All plots were uncovered and failed, increasing Syrian ties to the USSR.

From 1957-59 the CIA gave support for the Permesta Rebellion in Indonesia. By providing arms, funding, and aerial bombings through front organizations like Civil Air Transport, the U.S. sought to destabilize President Sukarno's government. The effort failed, with the rebellion defeated by 1961 after a U.S. pilot was captured in 1958, exposing involvement.

 

In Iraq (1959) the CIA planned with Egyptian collaboration to support nationalist elements, including Ba'athists, in an assassination attempt on Prime Minister Abdul Karim Qasim on September 7, 1959. Tactics included providing weapons and training to prevent a perceived communist takeover. The attempt failed, and Qasim remained in power until 1963.

According to David Halberstam, in his book The Fifties, "Administration officials had few moral qualms either about their role or about deceiving the American press and people. They saw themselves in an apocalyptic struggle with Communism in which normal rules of fair play did not apply. "

Eisenhower’s speech was a direct and powerful appeal to choose a different future. How did our nation's actions align with his appeal for a peaceful future? 

I think it interesting President Eisenhower's last speech was a warning to Americans.

Here is the speech in which President Eisenhower first made reference to what he called the "military-industrial complex." President Eisenhower gave this speech just days before stepping down,  yielding power to the newly elected JFK.

More than seventy years later, as nations continue to build arsenals of breathtaking expense and destructive power, Eisenhower's words echo with renewed urgency. 

* * * * *

This post was conceived after I saw Eisenhower's speech referenced in relation to a recent article noting our current trillion dollar defense budget, the highest in U.S. history. 

Related Links 

Eisenhower's "The Chance for Peace" Speech

Dylan's Masters Of War Didn't Just Apply to the Cold War

*The SM-65 Atlas was an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. With the proliferation of intercontinental missiles there was simultaneously a surge in family fallout shelters and air raid drills.

**Based on the way planes and ships are built today (e.g. the F-35 fighter jet), these numbers are way off.