Why did eisenhower favor a buildup of nuclear over conventional

In moving from military general in the field to commander in chief in the White House, Dwight Eisenhower's approach to war changed.  As a five-star general in the US army, serving as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe during World War II, his role had been to win battles on the ground.  But as President of the United States during the Cold War, his goal was to prevent war from coming.  He was most interested in deterring the other side from wanting to begin a war.  He also faced reductions in resources allocated for national defense in the post-war days.  So the most cost-efficient way to build up a strong deterrent to war was to build up America's nuclear arsenal.  Keeping war from happening was preferred to fighting another horribly bloody war with conventional weapons.