CONTENTS Introduction

Application of Containment Policy

Containment through Economic Aid.

Containment through Military Intervention

Role of CIA in Containment

Communist Spread in Cuba

Conclusion

Citation

INTRODUCTION Containment means keeping something

harmful under control or within limits.

USA adopted a foreign policy during Cold War called Containment Policy.

Containment was a policy using different strategies to prevent spread of communism.

This policy was adopted as a reaction to the Soviet Union’s moves, enlarging its communist sphere.

GEORGE KENNAN: FATHER OF CONTAINMENT US foreign service officer George F.

Kennan for the first time coined the term ‘containment of communism’.

He proposed that:

Main element of any United States policy toward the Soviet Union must be that of a

long-term patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive

tendencies. In places where communism threatened to expand, American aid

might prevent a takeover. (Amstutz, 1999)

TRUMAN DOCTRINE The Truman Doctrine was the name given

to a policy announced by US President Harry Truman on March 12th, 1947.

It stated that:

USA would intervene to support any nation that was being threatened by a takeover

by an armed minority or by outside pressures.

(Amstutz, 1999)

APPLICATION OF CONTAINMENT POLICY USA applied the containment policy in different ways.

Sometimes it succeeded in containing communism by giving economic aid .

Sometimes even military offensive didn’t help to contain communism.

CONTAINMENT THROUGH ECONOMIC AID 1946, Civil War in Greece

Soviet Union pressurizing Turkey to allow it to build naval bases on its northwestern coast.

So easy access to Mediterranean for USSR.

United States stepped in, in order to contain communism.

Truman asked Congress for $400 million in military and economic aid for Greece and Turkey under the Truman Doctrine.

Communists defeated in the Greek Civil War in October 1949, and the foreign aid helped strengthen the Turkish economy.

MARSHALL PLAN US Secretary of State, George Marshall,

shared the Marshall plan On 5th June 1947, formally called European Recovery Program.

Designed to recover the economies of 17 western and southern European countries.

The United States feared that the poverty, unemployment, and post-World War II misery will appeal the Communism in Western Europe.  

European nations received nearly $13 billion in aid.

From 1948 through 1952 European economies grew at an exceptional rate.

AGREEMENTS SIGNED UNDER STRATEGY OF CONTAINMENT

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created in 1949 by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.  

In September of 1954, the United States, France, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, Thailand and Pakistan formed the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, or SEATO.

The purpose of the organization was to prevent communism from gaining ground in the region. 

AGREEMENTS SIGNED UNDER STRATEGY OF CONTAINMENT

The Baghdad Pact was a defensive organization for promoting shared political, military and economic goals founded in 1955 by Turkey, Iraq, Great Britain, Pakistan and Iran.

The main purpose of the Baghdad Pact was to prevent communist incursions and promote peace in the Middle East.

It was renamed the Central Treaty

Organization, or CENTO, in 1959 after Iraq pulled out of the Pact.

United states didn’t join the pact formally rather it participated as an observer and took part in committee meetings

THE EISENHOWER DOCTRINE President Dwight D. Eisenhower announced

the Eisenhower Doctrine in1957.

Under the Eisenhower Doctrine, a country could request American economic assistance and aid from U.S. military forces if it was being threatened by armed aggression from another state. 

The doctrine was intended to check increased Soviet influence in the Middle East, which had resulted from the supply of arms to Egypt by communist countries and its support to Arab countries during Suez war.

US feared that communism might get roots in Middle East.

CONTAINMENT THROUGH MILITARY INTERVENTIONKOREAN WAR

Korea had been ruled by Japan until 1945. After WWII the northern half was liberated by USSR troops and southern half by USA.

In 1950 North Korea invaded South Korea.

US state department responded by saying that:

“Korea is a symbol to the watching world, if we allow Korea to fall within the Soviet orbit, the world will feel we have lost another round in our match with the

Soviet Union, and our prestige and the hope of those who place their faith in us

will suffer accordingly.”(Walsh, 1996)

CONTAINMENT THROUGH MILITARY INTERVENTION KOREAN WAR

UNO intervened in the war after resolution presented by USA and pushed back north forces across the 38th Parallel.

Korean War was a resounding success as there were no more invasions made by the North Koreans or Chinese into South Korea afterwards.

Although North Korea remained and still is Communist but US succeeded in spreading communist influence over South Korea.

CONTAINMENT THROUGH MILITARY INTERVENTIONVIETNAM WAR

US involvement in Vietnam was because of Domino theory of President Eisenhower who proposed that if one Southeast Asian country fell to communism, then all of Southeast Asia would fall like a domino effect.

Vietnam was divided in North and South at 17th Parallel after French withdrawal from region according to peace settlement of Geneva Accord.

CONTAINMENT THROUGH MILITARY INTERVENTIONVIETNAM WAR

Civil war started between North and South Vietnam.

South Vietnam aided by USA and North Vietnam was aided by the Soviet Union and China.

President Nixon started withdrawing troops when apposition grew in America against long, tiring and unfruitful war.

CONTAINMENT THROUGH MILITARY INTERVENTIONVIETNAM WAR

North succeeded to invent South Vietnam and a communist country with the name of ‘Socialist Republic of Vietnam’ was established in 1975.

ROLE OF CIA IN CONTAINMENT The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) provided

covert assistance to those Third world Countries that were opposing Soviet-backed forces.

CIA intervened in elections of Italy and Philippines to prevent communists from coming to power.

CIA also organized and backed military coups in countries like Iran, Guatemala, Indonesia etc. to overthrow or prevent the Communist governments.

CIA also helped Afghan guerillas both in arms and money against Soviet backed government of Afghanistan.

COMMUNIST SPREAD IN CUBA Cuba had been allied of USA and

ruled by a dictator Batista.

It was known as backyard of USA being located about 130 miles south of Florida.

The communist takeover in 1959 by Fidel Castro had brought direct problems for the United States.

COMMUNIST SPREAD IN CUBA Soviet’s decision to install missiles in Cuba, with the range to reach any target in USA,

brought most serious confrontation of cold war and its major turning point.

The Cuban Missile Crisis was a demonstration of failure of containment and did not succeed to halt the spread of communism.

CONCLUSION USA designed its Containment policy in order to prevent the Communist expansion.

USA spend millions of dollars giving support to poverty stricken areas as communism is much attractive for peasantry and middle class.

Containment policy was neither a complete success nor ultimate failure.

China, North Korea, Vietnam, Cuba and the Eastern Europe fell to Communist and US couldn’t prevent it.

However US succeeded to prevent communist spread in Western Europe, South Asia and Middle East through its military and economic aid.

The Containment Policy officially ended with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

It couldn’t be concluded that USSR collapsed because of Containment Policy rather it fell because of its own blunders, failure to control a large country and military expenditures while in a conflict with a big power turned it bankrupt and it eventually fell.

CITATIONBooks: Amstutz, Mark R, International Conflict and Cooperation, (New York: McGraw-Hill

companies,1999) Duiker, William J & Spielvogel, Jackson J ,World History,(Boston: Wadsworth Cengage

learning,2010) Morris, Roberts John, Twentieth Century the history of the world 1901,(New York: Penguin

books Ltd, 1999) Walsh, Ben, Modern world History, (London: John Murray publishers Ltd,1996)

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cy/cold-war-and-containment/ http://dictionary.reference.com/ http://www.cliffsnotes.com/study_guide/The-Origins-of-the-Cold-War.topicArticleId-25238

,articleId-25220.html http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/366654/Marshall-Plan http://history.state.gov/milestones/1953-1960 http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war

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