U.s. Foreign Policy Of Containment

George Kennan's containment plan is a radical shift in the U.S foreign policy when the Policy of the United States towards the Soviet Union prior, and during the World War II is considered. The containment policy marks the shift of American foreign policy towards the Soviets from alliance to deterrence. Kennan's states in the Long Telegram, "USSR still lives in antagonistic "capitalist encirclement" with which in the long run there can be no permanent peaceful coexistence." (Citation needed) only two years after the end of World War II, a war both the U.S and the Soviet Union fought side by side for a common ambition. If the aspect of radical shift in the U.S foreign policy is seen from a post-Cold War perspective, another radical change can

During the Cold War, America's basic policy was that of "containment" of the Soviet Union. The policy of containment was based upon several principles. First, the Soviet Union wanted to spread socialism to all areas of the world. However, it was felt that the leadership of the Soviet Union felt no particular rush to accomplish their goal. "The Kremlin is under no ideological compulsion to accomplish its purposes in a hurry. Like the Church, it is dealing in ideological concepts which are of a long-term validity, and it can afford to be patient. (Hook and Spanier, 42)." In other words, the Soviet leadership believed that, since their ideas were the correct ones, they would eventually prevail, and thus, no direct confrontation would be

In document 1, George Kennan arguments are that the USRR sees capitalism as an enemy, therefore, it cannot coexist with the rest of the world. He states that the Soviets want to dominate the world. as a result, he proposed a policy of containment where the United States and its allies should find ways to reduce the spread of communism around the world.

Gorge F. Kennan an American diplomat in 1947, who wrote an article in favor of that the United States should focus on communism to be contained and isolated because of the fear that it would spread to neighboring countries. Therefore, Kennan influenced the Truman administration to take on the policy of containment. President Truman was determined to put an end to communism and Soviet expansion by using military and economic methods. Using military methods the U.S military force stationed in Greece and Turkey to confront the Soviet Union. Another military method was The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) which is the United States and Canada united with Ten Western European nations to create a protective military alliance (to provide

George Kennan was an American diplomat who lived in Moscow, which allowed him to have a unique perspective of Germany, Cuba, and Asia. He served as the secretary to the American ambassador there. He was very unhappy with Communist leaders. Kennan believed we should have a “strong and steady containment” in relation to the Soviet Union. He had strong beliefs which many of the people he worked with opposed. One of his views was that he did not want forces going to the 38th parallel in Korea. Kennan thought that we should avoid Soviet expansion, especially when tensions started to rise in Germany and Cuba. Germany was then occupied, split by the Soviet Union and the US. Soviets started building medium-range missiles in Cuba, and it was time to stop the spread of said expansionism.

Elizabeth Edwards Spalding, argues that Truman’s principles, expectations, decision, and policies not only gave rise to and defined containments content, but also shaped America’s understanding of the Cold War and as a result of this fundamental role, it is right to say that Harry S. Truman was the first cold war warrior. Truman’s containment strategy also provided the grounds for a new liberal internationalism. For Truman, international meant that American leadership was central as his ideas and policies stemmed from a multifaceted definition of peace, composed of freedom, justice, and order.

Direct conflict, post-World War Two, was undesirable, but there was an undercurrent of rivalry and competition which kept the Soviets alert of any place in the world where they might spread their influence. This leads to the introduction of the policy of containment. Kennan proposed that an effort should be made to contain soviet expansion in order to ensure protection of Western Europe and Japan, who both had indispensable military and industrial sources, from Soviet power. Kennan indicated that the policy of containment was going to be long term, firm and

During the beginning stages of the Cold War, the United States fought communism on two separate fronts: Europe and Asia. After Stalin implemented communist governments in Eastern Europe and banned free elections, the United States decided that it needed to start a strategy of containment. First introduced by George Kennan in 1946, containment was a policy of preventing the spread of communism in other parts of the world, including Eastern Europe, China, Vietnam, and Korea. Though commonly associated with the Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan, early Cold War containment affected more than just the Europeans. Containment took on a completely different role in Asia, especially in the United State’s stance towards China. Containment strategies

It is generally believed that the containment policy on the Soviet Union by the US after World War II is a typical product of Realism. However, the containment policy is by no means a simple balance of power, it is actually part of the grand strategy of the US Liberalism. The famous 8000-word telegram by George Kennan related the threats of Europe with the nature the Soviet regime. He believes that only after the zeal of the Soviet Bolshevik revolutionary exhausted could Western military have a relax because then the collapse of the Soviet system would be spontaneous. Kennan noted that the priority of the US is to rebuild Germany and Japan, and thus to transform the social objectives and national preference of Western countries. History showed

The reconstruction of Japan with help from the U.S. can be considered part of the U.S policy of containment. The U.S. policy of containment was created to help prevent the spread of communism, which Stalin was trying to do. One reason this policy was needed was due to the Russians' fears of invasion. Also, the Soviets believed that capitalism was evil and saw Western democracies as a threat. In their attempt to demolish capitalism, the Soviets supported communist and anti-Western movements, had censorship on Western ideas, and banned some Western goods. To combat them, the U.S. continued to enforce their policy by strengthening non-communist countries, especially those surrounding the Soviet Union. By strengthening these countries, there could

Specifically, George Kennan’s ‘Long Telegram’ served as the outline for a strategy designed to contain Soviet expansionism and imperialism (“Iron Curtain”, CNN). The policy of containment would ultimately drive the decision to employ force in countering the aggression of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). Kennan’s assessment of the Soviets proved accurate, and on 29 August 1945, Stalin’s regime tested their first atomic bomb successfully (Judge & Langdon, 66). This test represented a restoration in the Cold War’s balance of power, but for the United States, it signified a tremendous loss in advantage (Judge & Langdon, 67). This strategic balance limited America’s strategic options, which hinged largely upon the idea of nuclear deterrence. With the advent of the Soviet nuclear era, America now found itself in a tit-for-tat scenario and subject to the perceived unpredictability of Stalin (“Korea”, CNN). Moreover, 1949 also saw the victory of Mao Zedong’s Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the establishment of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and the

After World War II ended, the Soviet Union started to get restless and began to spread communism and its sphere of influence. After witnessing the Soviet’s expansion, the United States felt threatened by the spread of communism and decided to take a more active role in international politics in order to curb the expansion, which led to the Containment policy. The Containment policy is the United States policy to prevent the spread of communism and the soviet’s rise to power by various international tactics. Containment was suggested by US diplomat George Kennan, in his famous “long telegram”. In Kennan’s later journal article in 1947 called “The Sources of Soviet

The goals and norms of American foreign policy can be traced over a number of centuries. Starting in 1776, foreign policy in the United States (US) has gone through a rollercoaster of competing strategies and schools of thought. Two competing strategies of Isolationism and Internationalism have taken their turns headlining the foreign policy principles of various American governments. Importantly, the reasons for the to and fro movement between these two extremes can not be linked to a single source but to a multitude of elements both internal and external shaping American thinking.

Kennan, who was stationed at the U.S. embassy in Moscow, was needed. After a deep analysis, Kennan stated that the Soviet Union should be dealt with patience and persistence and that the Soviet expansion should be “contained”. This advice of “containment” of the Soviet Union was to remain vague throughout the Cold War, and thus, possibly causing many unneeded conflicts. All over the world Communism spread its rule. Whether the United States was wrong in trying to stamp out the fires, is up for debate. One thing is clear, the United States did not have the power to stamp out all of the fires that had been spread.

“The Sources of Soviet Conduct” in 1947 by George F. Kennan, the article impacted and created a different perspective on the spread of Communism and the Soviet Union. Kennan’s philosophy behind stopping Communism from spreading was through containment, even though the telegraph did not have the word containment in it. The Truman Doctrine was established and the number of Presidents that viewed war in foreign soil. Kennan continued to fight Communism and had inputs and theories on other conflicts to include Vietnam and Korea.