The Application of the Containment Policy Between 1945 1962 in USA

¶ … Containment Policy of the United States Containment was the United States' major attempt to stop the spread of communism. It involved several strategies as it tried to curtail the efforts of the Soviet Union to enlarge its communism influence to Eastern Asia. This policy, developed over four decades, greatly influenced the fighting of the Cold War. George F. Kennan was responsible for the term as he mentioned it in a communication cable that he sent in 1946 while he was a diplomat in Moscow.

It was a bridge between rollback and detente. During the post-World War Two period, the U.S. president Harry S. Truman (1945-1953) did not seem to have a clear stance regarding the Soviet Union. While open hostilities were not declared, the U.S. still wanted to have its way in the general cooperation that existed between the two countries.

At the time, Stalin was the ruler of the Soviet Union, and though not in agreement with his dictatorship, President Truman was willing to have peaceful terms with him (Edwards, n.p.). Given the uneasy stance then, Kennan came up with the solution. He worked in the U.S. Foreign Service as a diplomat with respect to Russia. He was in charge of the foreign office in Moscow. The diplomat did not like Stalin's leadership or communism.

His view of communism was as a corrupt means by which its proponents built up their power and forced their will on the people. Thus, in response to a request to give his views on it in 1946, he constructed a long cable in which he highlighted the totalitarian rule and its legitimization through the demonizing of capitalism. Edwards reports on this by stating that the Soviet Union was bent on expansion, and that they had no problem using the necessary force to have their way.

Therefore, any negotiations with them would be in bad faith (Edwards, n. p.). The thoughts of Kennan were welcomed especially after Stalin, Russia's dictator had aided a rebellion in Iran earlier in 1946. The thoughts of Kennan mirrored those of many people in Washington, including those in the Pentagon as well as other diplomats. It was because of this that Kennan was asked to lead policy planning in the Department of State in 1947, after George Marshall was appointed the Secretary of State.

In his article "The Sources of Soviet Conduct," published in 1947, Kennan elucidated more on the communist stance of Russia, which he stated was influenced by their devotion to Marxism. One of their objectives was to expand as much as they could, and in any place. Kennan described the Soviet as a "fluid stream" that would flow anywhere it could (Edwards, n. p.). Thus, the Soviet was expected to expand its power anywhere it could, and would overlook any insurmountable nations according to its philosophy.

As a result, the United States had to adopt the policy of containment. While keeping peace with the Russians, efforts had to be made to keep them from enlarging their territory further. Kennan had a view of Russia being intrinsically weak in terms of the nation's inhabitants being exhausted at the physical and spiritual levels.

He proposed that containment be carried out in terms of counter measures, both by force at strategic geographical locations as well as by political stance, depending on the tactics that the Soviet was using at the time. As long as the communist system was in place, the weakness of the nation remained (Gaddis, n.p.). Kennan went on to propose that were the Kremlin to be disrupted, the weakness of the nation would emerge, and the Soviet would not exercise the power that it did then.

One of the first strategies under containment was the Marshall Plan, which was an offer for help to reconstruct nations in Europe. It was brought into effect on April 3, 1948. This came at a time when countries were undergoing rebuilt after the Second World War, and thus the aid was received with gladness. However, amid all this, was the apprehension in European nations that Germany would rise again to a place of power.

Nations, like France, wanted the assurance of the United States that should Germany attempt to rise again, and thus attract military action from the Soviet Union, the United States would be there militarily.

Thus, came up the North Atlantic Treaty, which was a containment policy opposed to a future Germany and a current Soviet Union, as it was uncertain what the future held from these two, and whether they would align their purposes (Gaddis, n.p.).NATO was formed just a short while before the stand-off between the Western Allies and the Soviets was resolved. This stand offended in March 1949 when the Soviets lifted a blockade they had constructed in Berlin, Germany.

As the policy began to be adopted in Western Europe and Japan, it became increasingly clear that the resources that the United States had were not sufficient for their purpose. There were many interests involved in the nations where containment was proposed. The U.S. realized that the policy's success in Europe depended on it being implemented in other areas, such as the Middle East, the south eastern Asia as well as in North Africa, where the Soviet influence must not.