Cold War Frq

Dietrich Jackson

During the years of 1945-1975 the policy of containment was enacted in order to stop communist rule from spreading. Under President Truman, the United States established a foreign policy doctrine called "containment." Originated by George Kennan and other diplomats and policy advisors, the policy of "containment" aimed not to fight an all out war with the communist Soviet Union, but rather to confine communism and the Soviet Union to their existing boundaries. The analysis of this doctrine would cause many conflicts across the globe in places like Greece, Vietnam and Korea. Some approaches such as the one in Greece were mildly successful, but failed in the Southeast region of Asia.

The first test of the proposed document was in Greece. The U.S. had made a judgmental error in thinking that the U.S.S.R. had been supplying the Communists occupying Greece with weaponry. After a successful appeal for aid to Congress, a 400 million dollar package was sent to stop the communist threat. The Greek government consequently "defeated" the Communist uproar, thus making the U.S. doctrine a success in this case. The Greek government, backed by the British, stayed out of the Soviet realm of influence despite its location in regards to Soviet satellite states such as Bulgaria or Yugoslavia. This first successful attempt in preventing the expanding communist ideals spurred the U.S. toward economic recovery in Western Europe. In June 1947, an Economic recovery program, known as the Marshall plan, was announced by U.S. secretary of state, George Marshall. Stalin kept all Soviet satellite states from participating. Almost a year after the Marshall plan was enacted a conflict between the superpowers occurred. Stalin wanted to take control of Berlin, which meant most of East Germany. So with no formal concordance between the Soviets and the allies, Stalin initiated a blockade. Rather than initiate in open conflict, the allies had agreed to airlift supplies into the city during Operation Vittles. The operation last more than 300 days and was yet another example of Successful Containment. By not immediately going into armed combat the U.S. avoided casualties and open disagreements, the prosperity in West Berlin also undermined East German confidence in the GDR and the U.S.S.R.

The situation in Berlin was replayed in Korea, as Korea was also divided in two, with Allied and Soviet forces occupying the different sections. A similar stalemate commenced and the two superpowers decided create two Korean States. However, in June 1950 the Communist North invaded the South in an attempt to unite the country. The Americans made yet another judgmental error in believing the Soviets were backing the North Korean troops and sent in military forces to help South Korea. They successfully drove the North Koreans back across the 38th parallel. It was then that the Chinese Army

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