October and November 1960 were two of the coldest months of the Cold War. Continuingtensions over Berlin and the nuclear balance were exacerbated by crises in Laos, Congo,and—for the first time—France's rebellious départementsin Algeria. During Nikita Khrushchev's table-pounding visit to the United Nations, heembraced Belkacem Krim, the foreign minister of the Gouvernement Provisoire de laRépublique Algérienne (GPRA). After mugging for the cameras at the Sovietestate in Glen Cove, New York, Khrushchev confirmed that this constituted de facto recognitionof the provisional government and pledged all possible aid. Meanwhile, in Beijing, PresidentFerhat Abbas delivered the GPRA's first formal request for Chinese“volunteers.” U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower asked his National SecurityCouncil “whether such intervention would not mean war.” The council agreed thatif communist regulars infiltrated Algeria, the United States would be bound by the North AtlanticTreaty to come to the aid of French President Charles de Gaulle and his beleaguered government.After six years of insurgency, Algeria appeared to be on the brink of becoming a Cold Warbattleground.1