Evaluate The Truman Containment Policy

Good evening congressmen and women. I am here to discuss the “successfulness” of the containment policy under the administration of President Harry Truman. The policy is composed of a series of strategies, including the Truman Doctrine, and the Marshall Plan, issued in order to prevent the spread of communism abroad. I believe that such strategies failed in their intention of containing communism. Despite our alliance with them during World War II, the United States is not very fond of the Soviet Union, and vice versa. This is most likely due to the fact that the U.S. believes in a completely different type of government than the USSR. For example, our democratic values prevent us for acquiring territory in order to overthrow that country. However, communists feel no remorse in invading other countries and forcing its citizens to bend to their whim. During the 1940s the Soviet Union did precisely that when they took over nations in Eastern Europe to provide themselves with satellite nations, countries under Soviet domination. Needless to say, protection from communism is of utmost importance in keeping our democratic values alive.
George Kennan, our top diplomat who was stationed in Moscow, informed us that the Soviets have no desire to coexisting with capitalist countries, and that the triumph of communism was inevitable. The containment policy is based on Kennan’s analysis that “long-range policies” will provide a chance of halting “Russian expansive tendencies.” Truman, under his doctrine, stated that the US should give support to countries or people threatened by Soviet forces or communist uprisings. For example, the doctrine was used to give aid to Greece and Turkey, who were next on the Soviets list. The Marshall Plan also helped in providing European nations with financial aid as a way of recovering from