1954 in the Vietnam War 5 April The National Security Council met again to consider U.S. intervention at Điện Biên Phủ. The Army, including Army Chief of Staff General Matthew Ridgway, was negative, stating that U.S. intervention would require 7 army divisions and heavy air support. 7 April President Eisenhower used the phrase "falling dominoes" in a press conference. This was the origin of the domino theory which postulated that if Vietnam became communist the other nearby states would soon follow. The domino theory was a prominent justification for the Vietnam War in the United States during the 1960s. 14 April Secretary of State John
Iceland in the Cold War Icelandic businesses refused entry to US soldiers. Icelandic organizations also warned about the purported nefarious influence of US soldiers. Dozens of Icelandic girls were incarcerated for having relations with US soldiers. Reports of rape, prostitution, strip teases, druggings, divorces, children born out of wedlock and other controversial behaviors were prominent in newspapers. The Icelandic government imposed a ban on black US soldiers on the US base for the purposes of "protecting" Icelandic women and preserve a homogeneous "national body." Although Iceland remained allied with the US throughout the Cold War, the country continued to trade with the Soviet Union, and