Eisenhower set about on a tour of the European capitals in January 1951 to raise morale and convince the war weary countries that bolstering their defenses was necessary. It was not an easy task. The Europeans felt that the NATO Treaty ensured that the USA would not desert them. They deemed the threat of the American atomic bomb enough to deter the Soviet Union. Therefore, it was not necessary to build up European ground strength as it would do nothing in the face of atomic war and would only provoke the Soviets.
Following the tour, Eisenhower spoke to the American Congress in which he convinced the USA that it was not going to be solely responsible for defending Europe nor would it cost an excessive amount of money or troops to do so. Europe would feel more confident in the rearmament process if the USA would reciprocally put forward its commitments. The speech was deemed a tremendous success. Former critics of NATO in the American government said that they had been persuaded. Shortly after, Congress approved the dispatch of four divisions. Subordinate Allied commands were set up in three key geographical areas – North, Centre, and South.