After the French defeat and the Geneva Conference, Eisenhower continued communist containment in Southeast Asia by lending U.S. support to Ngo Dinh Diem.

The Domino Theory
From Professor Sage's Web page at Northern Virginia Community College
http://www.nvcc.edu/home/nvsageh/Hist122/Part4/IkeDomino.htm

During a press conference on April 7, 1954, Eisenhower answers a question about the strategic importance of Indochina by formulating the "Domino Theory."

U.S. Reaction to the Geneva Agreement
From the Vietnam Wars Page at Vassar College
http://vietnam.vassar.edu/~vietnam/doc3.html

Eisenhower's Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, issued a declaration showing U.S. commitment to respecting the terms of the Agreement. In addition, Dulles states that "In the case of nations now divided against their will, we shall continue to seek to achieve unity through free elections supervised by the United Nations to insure that they are conducted fairly." Diem's refusal to comply with the terms of the Geneva agreement regarding free elections was not challenged by the U.S. Government.

Letter from Eisenhower to Diem
From the Vietnam Wars Page at Vassar College
http://vietnam.vassar.edu/~vietnam/doc5.html

Eisenhower promises Diem direct assistance to the government in exchange for reforms.

The importance of Vietnam to the United States
From Vincent Ferraro's page at Mount Holyoke College
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/eisen.htm