Page 91 - Encyclopedia Of World History

containment 441

The world is weary of statesmen whom democracy has degraded
into politicians. • Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881)

the USSR were unable to expand then long-term internal At the same time concern in Washington over the
pressures would force drastic changes in the Soviet growth and popularity of West European Communist
system. parties led to the conclusion that a slow economic recov-
ery from the war was contributing to the appeal of the
Critics of Containment Communists.Accordingly on 5 June 1947 United States
Kennan’s views, although popular in the government, secretary of state George Marshall announced a program
provoked some criticism when made public.Walter Lipp- of extensive economic aid to European states in need.
mann, a popular syndicated newspaper columnist and Formally known as the European Recovery Plan, it is
foreign affairs commentator of the time, wrote that con- more popularly remembered as the Marshall Plan. The
tainment would involve the United States in numerous USSR and its satellite states refused to participate, stating
conflicts around the globe. The resources of the United that they were not about to open their economies and
States would be overextended and worn down. Others on societies to U.S. trade and U.S. auditors. Over the next
the political left criticized containment on the grounds four years most Western European states requested Mar-
that they opposed any confrontation with the USSR. shall Plan assistance, with totals reaching more than $17
HenryWallace, a member ofTruman’s cabinet and a for- billion.The Marshall Plan was fundamental to the West
mer vice president under Roosevelt, publicly broke with European economic recovery of the postwar era, al-
Truman and said that Soviet policy was driven not by though Communist parties in France and Italy remained
expansionism but rather by fear. Containment would only popular for many years.
worsen the situation. In 1948Wallace ran againstTruman Although Kennan had emphasized nonmilitary eco-
in the presidential election, but finished a poor fourth. nomic and diplomatic strategies for containment, and
had participated in the drawing up of the Marshall Plan,
Containment Strategies the intensification of the Cold War meant that military
Kennan’s views provided the basis for many American containment came to the fore. In August 1949 the USSR
policies toward the USSR in the years to come. Early in successfully tested an atomic bomb, breaking the United
1947 the British government informed Washington that States monopoly on atomic weapons. In October 1949
it would be unable to continue aid to the government of the Chinese Communists, led by Mao Zedong, came to
Greece, which was then fighting a bitter civil war against power in China. Finally, on 25 June 1950 the armies of
the Greek Communists. Since it was assumed that the Communist North Korea invaded South Korea.Although
Soviets were supporting the Greek Communists, Wash- South Korea had never previously been seen as vital to
ington feared that the fall of the Greek government United States strategic interests,Truman decided that he
would bring Soviet power to the shores of the Mediter- could not stand by.The United States entered the war on
ranean. On 12 March 1947 President Harry Truman, in the side of the South Koreans and soon became bogged
a bid to gain Congressional support for a $400 million down in a bloody three-year stalemate.
aid package to Greece and Turkey, proclaimed what has Earlier in 1950 the United States government had
come to be known as the Truman Doctrine.Truman said undertaken a comprehensive review of its global defense
that he believed that “it must be the policy of the United strategies. The review, completed by September, was
States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted obviously influenced by the events of 1949 and the
subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. Korean War. Known as NSG-68, the review recom-
I believe that we must assist free peoples to work out their mended a massive buildup of American atomic and con-
own destinies in their own way” (Dunbabin 1994, 83). ventional defense forces.The document almost certainly
Truman added that American help should focus on eco- marked a turn toward a military emphasis in contain-
nomic and financial aid. ment. Kennan later protested that by “counter force” he