The Cold War and U.S. Diplomacy - Essay Example

?The Cold War and the U.S. Diplomacy The Cold War and U.S. Diplomacy During the era of Cold War, most U.S Presidents came up with policies that were dubbed as “doctrines.” These policies were never that simple, and referring to them as “doctrines” seems to make them sound more precise than they were. However, they are convenient elements that help people to remember and understand who stood for what (Roskin, 2011). The overall objective of the U.S foreign policy; to stop communism did not change noticeably. Only the costs and the intensity changed. Although a number of doctrines were articulated, they are just variations on the prime “containment” policy or the Truman Doctrine. President Harry Truman and the Truman Doctrine of 1947 When Harry Truman took over power as the US President in April 1945, much of Asia and Europe lay in ruins (Dallek, 2008). Even though the Axis powers had been overpowered, a threatening situation appeared on the horizon. The Soviet Union and the United States, who were allies in World War II, came out of the War as super powers thus increasing the tension and conflict between the two nations. By 1947, attempts to maintain unity between Moscow and Washington had broken down totally. President Truman, closely working with two assertive Secretaries of State; Dean G. Acheson, and George C. Marshall, took crucial steps to contain Soviet expansion in territories in which the U.S had important interests. The United States was about to engage in a Cold War. With the Truman Doctrine, Truman ascertained that the United States would give military, economic, and political support to all democratic countries under threat from internal or external authoritarian forces. Further, as Russell (2012) notes, this Doctrine efficiently reoriented U.S overseas policy away from its common stance of withdrawal from continental conflicts that did not involve the US directly, to one of probable interference in far away conflicts. The Truman Doctrine originated from President Truman’s speech before a joint meeting of Congress on March 1947. The instant cause for the speech was a prior announcement by Britain that it would not provide economic and military support to the Greek Government in its civil war with the Greek Communist party. President Truman requested the Congress to assist the Greek Government to wipe out communism. It was argued that if Turkey would be provided with both economic and military assistance, the US would be able to contain the spread of communism. The Republicans supported the policy, which later controlled the Congress and promised to send $400 million in aid to the Greek government. However, no military forces were to be taken to Greece. The effect was to terminate the Communist threat in Greece. In 1952, both Turkey and Greece joined NATO, an armed alliance that assured their protection. Following this action, the Doctrine was informally expanded to become the foundation of the American Cold War policy around the world and throughout Europe. It shifted the U.S foreign plan towards the Soviet Union from a relaxation of tension to the containment policy of Soviet expansion. The effects of the Truman Doctrine for the U.S and other nations The Long-term policy Truman’s doctrine strengthened American Cold War policy all over the world, and more specifically, in Europe. It lasted because it looked into a broader cultural uncertainty concerning contemporary life in a globalized world. Truman Doctrine and its policies dealt with the concern of Washington over communism’s domino impact. It also facilitated a media-sensitive representation of a policy that won bipartisan support and it rallied US economic power to stabilize and modernize unstable areas without direct military involvement. In addition, it brought about modernization programs and state-building activities to the forefront of international policy (Cox, 1990). The diplomatic effort became a metaphor for tragedy aid to keep a country from the influence of communism. Truman applied the disease imagery both to present a sense of impending emergency in the spread of communism and to create a “rhetoric vision” of controlling it by expanding a defensive shield around non-communist nations in the whole world. The Truman Doctrine copied “quarantine the aggressor” policy that aimed at containing Japanese and German expansion in 1937 (Russell, 2012). This “quarantine” policy proposed the role of public health officers in treatment of contagious diseases. The metaphor in medicine extended further than the immediate objectives of the Truman Doctrine in a way that the imagery combined with flood and fire imagery to suggest a disaster. The echoed policy thus provided America with an easy change to direct army confrontation in later times with communist militaries in Vietnam and Korea. By communicating ideological dissimilarities in all terms, Truman managed to get support for the communism-containing policy. Advantages of the Truman Doctrine Though the doctrine created tension in Europe, it also had some benefits. Politically, prosperous nations were able to oppose communism. As Marshall asserts, “The seeds of communism spread and grow in the evil soil of poverty.” The ability of the US to deal with communism led to political stability. In terms of the economy, Europeans would benefit from the Marshall plan due to investment in their economy (Lykogiannis, 2002). It was also perceived that recession would be prevented in America if trade options were increased. According to the Doctrine, under the Marshal Plan, its policy was directed not against any nation or doctrine, but against poverty, chaos, desperation, and hunger. Disadvantages Together with the Marshall Plan, the doctrine solidified Western European countries into accepting the realism of a split Europe. It led to a divided world where two distinct political, ideological, and economic systems were in conflict. The policy of containment in addition to the effect of the Marshall Plan, developed a structure with which the loosely felt, yet unavoidable tensions were spiraling within Europe in the mid 1947. Conclusion The Truman Doctrine was generally a reaction to political issues in Greece, but later had an impact in Europe and the entire world. It was a demonstration of foreign policy as an outcome of the fears and insecurities of Soviet power filling the gap in Europe. The Doctrine had several consequences. For instance, Turkey and Greece were given financial support and they did not give way to communism. Further, the U.S became committed to internationalism with the containment policy, rather than the former isolationism. In addition, it increased tension between the USSR and USA, which formalized the Cold War since America took direct action against communism. Finally, there were a number of criticisms of the doctrine that Truman was guilty of initiating half a century of fear. References Cox, M. (1990). ‘From the Truman doctrine to the second superpower detente: The rise and fall of the Cold War’, Journal of Peace Research, 27(1), pp. 25-41. Dallek, R. (2008). Harry S. Truman: The American Presidents Series: The 33rd President, 1945- 1953 (American Presidents (Times). New York, NY, Times Books. Lykogiannis, A. (2002). Britain and the Greek economic crisis, 1944-1947: From liberation to the Truman doctrine. Kansas: University of Missouri. Roskin, M., & Berry, N. (2011). The new world of international relations (8th Edition). New York, NY: Pearson Publishers. Russell, J. (Ed). (2012). Truman doctrine. Stratford: Book on Demand Ltd. Read More