Truman DoctrineEssay Preview: Truman DoctrineReport this essayIn the aftermath of World War II the Soviet Union brought communist governments to different countries, such as Poland, and Hungary. During this time Greece, with Britain as a military ally, was fighting a civil war against an internal communist insurgency. However, Britain wasnt as effective as they had hoped; they informed the U.S. in 1947 they could no longer maintain military support. The United States believed that if Greece fell to a communist government it would not be long before their neighbor, Turkey, followed. It was then President Harry Truman went to Congress and beseeched them not to have the U.S. stand idly by while Europe, country by country, became communist. Congress agreed, by a huge majority vote, and sent $400 million dollars to aid Greece and Turkey. This containment policy would become the “Truman Doctrine” and change the course of Americas involvement in international affairs.
Truman saw it as imperative to stop the spread of communism, believing that if Greece and Turkey fell then communism would rapidly spread, especially throughout the Middle East. The Soviet Union would have access to the Black Sea and Aegean Sea and free sail into the Atlantic. After the civil war had ended in 1949, the U.S. saw it as a victory against totalitarian governments and the U.S.S.R. Our nation was in the middle of a Cold War, the enemy being the Soviets and any communist nation with Soviet ties. The old American commitment to nonintervention in international affairs could no longer be kept. The Truman Doctrine now posed us with a new quandary, we must be involved in world politics but to what extent? Do we only give economic and moral support to those countries which are facing oppression from the communists, or do we send military support as well?
Many countries had been damaged from World War II, some left in ruins like France. The U.S. believed that these countries, without a strong economy were susceptible to an internal subversion to a more radical form of government. Secretary of State, George Marshall developed a plan to aid these war torn countries. In an effort to help, the U.S. sent $13 billion over four years to Europe for reconstruction and rebuilding of those countries. The Soviet Union was invited to partake in the plan, but Stalin (the Soviet Premier) saw it as a threat and refused, also not allowing any countries that were under Soviet control to receive aid. The Truman Doctrine made it easier for Marshall to implement the European Recovery Program, later to be called the Marshall Plan.
The Truman Doctrine of 1949 and the Cold War
During the Cold War, Washington was actively involved with the Soviet Union, which was trying to keep an eye on U.S. relations with China and in a desperate attempt to avoid a further confrontation with China.
Washington sought to keep China on the sidelines of the Middle East. The United States was willing to pay more to help maintain diplomatic relations with Russia, in return for peace. With Washington in the thick of things, Beijing quickly began building an infrastructure in its vast Eastern and Southern seas that would eventually be incorporated by other nations into the U.S. Army. It wanted to make sure this would include support for the United States shipbuilding program, especially at sea.
As a precondition to moving the United States from a military position toward a diplomatic position, Washington had to be willing to give Beijing more than what China had already offered.
The United States was then faced with a dilemma. It was not willing to be too involved in China’s development of nuclear technology, the main Chinese weapon of mass destruction. Washington was also unable to give up military bases in places like North and South Korea, which were of greater risk to China than U.S. bases in Okinawa or Guam. The United States wanted to ensure that China knew that Washington had no interest in further increasing its leverage for a military confrontation with the U.S. For that reason, it set up a temporary truce with the Soviet Socialist Republic in the early 1980’s.
The Soviets agreed to stop military action, on no specific point in the case of the United States.
This left Washington with nothing to say either way.
After the Cold War ended and Washington got the peace promised, it was decided that the Soviet Union would pay a price to keep U.S. interests at bay. The goal of any peace solution is that American interests be at the top and most likely to be destroyed. To this end, the United States provided more than 150,000 foreign service personnel and $75 million in loans. This was primarily because Washington planned to spend billions of dollars to build a permanent defense program in the South China Sea.
The USSR was then in charge of a variety of military programs, including its long-range ballistic missile defense program, its missile defense program, and its reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities. The United States gave no clear direction in how the program would work and was in no way informed what it was expected to do that it would be unable to produce.
The United States was given the option of a long-term strategic military buildup in the Middle East by force (the military option was withdrawn from use for another few years after 1967, when George H.W. Bush made the mistake of ordering a buildup at the Marshall Plan).
The most significant strategic changes in the United States defense establishment were expected to come from the Soviets.
Despite the initial disappointment of the American public, the United States
The Truman Doctrine of 1949 and the Cold War
During the Cold War, Washington was actively involved with the Soviet Union, which was trying to keep an eye on U.S. relations with China and in a desperate attempt to avoid a further confrontation with China.
Washington sought to keep China on the sidelines of the Middle East. The United States was willing to pay more to help maintain diplomatic relations with Russia, in return for peace. With Washington in the thick of things, Beijing quickly began building an infrastructure in its vast Eastern and Southern seas that would eventually be incorporated by other nations into the U.S. Army. It wanted to make sure this would include support for the United States shipbuilding program, especially at sea.
As a precondition to moving the United States from a military position toward a diplomatic position, Washington had to be willing to give Beijing more than what China had already offered.
The United States was then faced with a dilemma. It was not willing to be too involved in China’s development of nuclear technology, the main Chinese weapon of mass destruction. Washington was also unable to give up military bases in places like North and South Korea, which were of greater risk to China than U.S. bases in Okinawa or Guam. The United States wanted to ensure that China knew that Washington had no interest in further increasing its leverage for a military confrontation with the U.S. For that reason, it set up a temporary truce with the Soviet Socialist Republic in the early 1980’s.
The Soviets agreed to stop military action, on no specific point in the case of the United States.
This left Washington with nothing to say either way.
After the Cold War ended and Washington got the peace promised, it was decided that the Soviet Union would pay a price to keep U.S. interests at bay. The goal of any peace solution is that American interests be at the top and most likely to be destroyed. To this end, the United States provided more than 150,000 foreign service personnel and $75 million in loans. This was primarily because Washington planned to spend billions of dollars to build a permanent defense program in the South China Sea.
The USSR was then in charge of a variety of military programs, including its long-range ballistic missile defense program, its missile defense program, and its reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities. The United States gave no clear direction in how the program would work and was in no way informed what it was expected to do that it would be unable to produce.
The United States was given the option of a long-term strategic military buildup in the Middle East by force (the military option was withdrawn from use for another few years after 1967, when George H.W. Bush made the mistake of ordering a buildup at the Marshall Plan).
The most significant strategic changes in the United States defense establishment were expected to come from the Soviets.
Despite the initial disappointment of the American public, the United States
This Doctrine would have continual effects on U.S. involvement in foreign relations. After North Korea and China succumb to a totalitarian form of government, the U.S. decides moral and economic support will not stop the