Soon after taking office, Eisenhower negotiated an end to the Korean War, resulting in the partition of Korea. The following year, he played a major role in the defeat of the Bricker Amendment, which would have limited the president's treaty making power and ability to enter into executive agreements with foreign nations. The Eisenhower administration used propaganda and covert action extensively, and the Central Intelligence Agency instigated or took part in the 1953 Iranian coup d'état and the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état. The Eisenhower administration played a role in the partition of Vietnam at the 1954 Geneva Conference, and the U.S. subsequently directed aid to the newly formed country of South Vietnam. The Eisenhower administration also established the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization as an alliance of anti-Communist states in Southeast Asia, and resolved two crises with China over Taiwan.