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
Events leading to the Falklands War the spread of communism, along with the certainty that Britain could handle the matter on its own, may have influenced the US to take a position of non-interference. During the Cold War, with the performance of forces being watched closely by the Soviet Union, it was considered preferable for the UK to handle without assistance a conflict within its capabilities. American non-interference was vital to the US-British relationship. Ascension Island, a British possession, was vital to the long term supply of the Task Force South; however, the airbase stationed on it was run and operated by the US. The American