The Truman Doctrine - The Cold War - Assignment Example

The Truman Doctrine, that was passed on May 22, 1947, was significant because for the first time in world history, weaker nations could ask for, and be reasonably assured of support from the United States in its role as the main Superpower to emerge almost untouched by the Second World War. Such assistance was specifically limited to nations facing the realistic danger of being engulfed by communism. The immediate impact of the Truman Doctrine involved Greece and Turkey. World War II created great havoc in Greece, ruining its economy and infrastructure. As soon as Britain withdrew its special support, Greece became vulnerable to intervention by the communist Soviet Union that was using the Greek communist party ELAS to create political instability in the country. The U.S quickly intervened, supplying $ 400 million in economic and military aid to Greece. More importantly, 250 specialist U.S army officers were sent as military advisers. As a result, Greece was able to stave off Soviet pressure and successfully putting down the ELAS inspired communist uprising in October 1949. The Soviet Union was exerting undue pressure on Turkey to revise the 1936 Montreux Convention and claiming sovereignty over its city Trebinzond. The U.S intervened by supplying financial assistance to Turkey, enabling it to successfully withstand Soviet pressure and preserve its democracy. The success story in Greece and Turkey paved the way for future U.S policy vis-à-vis the Truman Doctrine. It kept on using it as a tool of containment to support any country that it perceived as vulnerable to communism. It was a wise and sound move because, like in case of Greece and Turkey, it averted bloody conflicts that would have led to loss of lives and property, besides allowing communism to spread its tentacles over the free world. U.S economic policy received a boost as its businesses could function on the global scenario without restriction. Since 1979 however, when the Soviet Bloc disintegrated, the perceived threat from communism has vastly reduced. Additionally, with the advent of Globalization, the barriers to world trade have disappeared. The ‘Europe Recovery Program’ heralded by the Marshall Plan was designed to help western European nations recover from the massive destruction caused World War II. Their economies were in shambles, their infrastructure was destroyed and there was huge unemployment. The U.S recognized those nations needed quick and large amounts of financial help that, besides providing a much needed morale booster, would help them rebuild their devastated countries and provide sufficiently well for their people. By its commitment to help west European nations recover and develop ‘a healthy economy independent of extraordinary outside assistance,’ the U.S used the Marshall Plan as a demonstration of its leadership and responsibility to the world in the aftermath of World War II. Reference Levine, Brian. “The Truman Doctrine.” Associated Content. 2007. 10 Dec. 2007. The West won the Cold War due to the foresightedness and ingenuity of one individual – President Ronald Reagan of the United States – ably supported by two other individuals – British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Vatican chief Pope John Paul II. Despite the Soviet successes in gaining increasing global influence {the previous decade witnessed many countries such as Angola and Nicaragua becoming Soviet satellites} Reagan perceived that the Soviet communist framework was extremely susceptible. On June 7, 1982 Reagan had a one-on-one meeting with Pope John Paul II where both men agreed to coordinate efforts to dismantle the communist network. The very next day Reagan gave a speech at Westminster Abbey during which he predicted: “The march of freedom and democracy will leave Marxism-Leninism on the ash heap of history.” With the help of his 2 allies Reagan adopted a 6 point strategy: encourage internal disturbance in Soviet proxies especially Poland; seal up origins of cash; overburden the Soviets with an arms race heavily founded on technology; impede the movement of Western technology to the Soviet Union; increase the cost of the wars it was engaged in; and demoralize the Soviet Union by relentless pressing for change. Focusing on the strongest Soviet satellite, Poland, the U.S. and the Vatican supported the Solidarity Union led by Lech Walesa to increase internal disruptions in that country. The Pope’s role as a source of moral strength for Catholics who formed the majority in Poland was very significant. Walesa went on to become Polish President after Poland was eventually freed from communist influence. The U.S. and Britain meanwhile engaged in various subversive activities. Their agents let a Soviet spy steal gas pipeline software specially booby-trapped to cause massive damage when used – a huge explosion in Siberia in 1982 was the result, also causing stalling of Soviet techno-piracy operations due to the suspicion that further purchases or thefts being similarly rigged for destruction. U.S and British agents went on a booby-trapping spree, damaging Soviet army equipment with flawed computer chips, disrupting gas pipeline operations with defective turbines and crippling chemical and tractor factories with flawed plans. Reagan’s coup de grace was to engage in a powerful build up of arms and to strongly call for a missile-based defense mechanism against nuclear weapons in 1983. Newly elected Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was forced to acknowledge that the Soviets could not keep up with U.S. competition, and conceded that the U.S. had brought economic ruin to the Soviet Union. The West had won the Cold War. Reagan’s great service was well acknowledged by Senator Ted Kennedy who said after Reagan’s death on June 5, 2004:“[I salute] the president who won the Cold War.” Reference: “Freedom’s Team: How Reagan, Thatcher and John Paul II won the Cold War.” Opinion Journal. 2004. 10 Dec. 2007. Appeasement literally means ‘giving a bully what he wants.’ In world history it refers to the concessions given by Britain and France to Germany under Hitler with the aim of pushing Germany into war with the Soviet Union, whose communist policies were hated and feared by Britain, France and other Western powers. Hitler built up his army, reintroduced conscription in 1936, war-tested his armed forces in the Spanish Civil War and moved his troops to the Rhineland in 1936 – Britain and France were guilty of appeasement by allowing him to do this even though the actions constituted breaches of the Treaty of Versailles. In 1938, Hitler invaded Austria and declared Anschluss. Again, England and France, in an act of appeasement, just turned a blind eye to his action. Also in1938, Hitler demanded union of Sudetenland to Germany. By tamely giving Sudetenland to Germany, Britain and France were guilty of the worst appeasement. Frederik Willen de Klerk (1936- ) was the last State President of Apartheid-era South Africa, serving from September 1989 to May 1994. He is best known for engineering the end of Apartheid, South Africa’s racial segregation policy, paving the way for its transformation into a multi-racial democracy. Josef Stalin (1879 – 1953) was dictator of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1929 to 1953. He changed the Soviet Union from an undeveloped country to one of the world’s great industrial and military powers. Richard Nixon (1913-1994) was president of the United States from 1969 to 1975. He was the only U.S. president ever to resign from office. He resigned on August 9, 1974 while facing impeachment for his involvement in the Watergate political scandal. Mikhail Gorbachev (1931- ) was the leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to 1991. He gained worldwide fame for his efforts to make changes in his country and its relations with other countries. In 1990, he won the Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions to world peace. Mao Zedong (1893-1976) was a Chinese military and political leader who led the Communist Party of China (CPC) to victory against the Kuomintang (KMT) in the Chinese Civil War. He was the leader of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) from its establishment in 1949 until his death in 1976. He is credited with transforming China into a major international power through his policies. The Rape of Nanking was an infamous genocidal war crime committed by the Japanese military in Nanjing (then capital of the Republic of China) after capturing it on December 13, 1937. For the next 6 weeks, Japanese troops committed atrocities like rape, looting, arson and execution of prisoners of war and civilians. The Chinese claim that the number of non-combatants killed was 300,000. The Balfour Declaration of November 2, 1917 (named after British Foreign Secretary Arthur James Balfour) was a classified formal statement of policy by the British government on the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I in which Britain declared its support for Zionist plans for a National home for the Jewish people within Palestine. The Battle of Britain (10 July to 31 October 1940) was the first major battle fought entirely by air forces – Germany’s Luftwaffe and Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) during World War II. During the battle, the Luftwaffe did its best to destroy the RAF network and break the spirit of the British government and its people before a planned sea and airborne invasion of Britain codenamed Operation Sealion. The Germans failed in their efforts. Operation Barbarossa (June to December 1941) – named after Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of the 12th century Holy Roman Empire - was the code name for Nazi Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union. It was the longest invasion in written history. Its operational goal was the rapid conquest of the European part of the Soviet Union, west of a line connecting the cities of Arkhangelsk and Astrakhan (called the A-A line). The Red Army successfully repelled the invasion. The Battle of Midway (June 4 – June 7, 1942) was the naval battle in the Pacific Theatre of World War II in which the U.S. Navy defeated a Japanese attack against Midway Atoll, losing one aircraft carrier and one destroyer while destroying 4 Japanese carriers and a heavy cruiser. The battle that resulted in a decisive victory for the Americans is widely regarded as the most important naval engagement of the Pacific Campaign of World War II. The Truman Doctrine (March 12, 1947) was a proclamation by U.S. president Harry S. Truman that declared U.S. support for Greece and Turkey with economic and military aid to prevent their falling into the Soviet sphere. It marked a shift in American foreign policy as regards the Soviet Union, from détente to containment. It is widely perceived to have begun the Cold War. Read More