Extending Effects of the Cold War, Essay Example

Introduction

The United States incorporated a strategy called containment to wage the Cold War. Containment has a variety of meanings that evolved over a forty-five year period. The goal of containment was to limit of Soviet power and Communist views. Containment was never considered a defense strategy. It was primarily an instrument that was used to win the Cold War. The use of containment as a war strategy can still be felt today.

Actions Abroad

During the Cold War, the United States and the USSR became reluctant allies because Germany posed a threat to each. Consequently, they decided to cooperate militarily. The fear and threat of communism left many nations trying to figure out how they could contain and eliminate communist views. As a result, several countries, including the United States, joined NATO-the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It is believed that “NATO has brought more peace and security to the world, dramatically improved European unity, and helped Europe emerge as a collective power” (LaFeber, 2002   ). Because of the formation of NATO, many countries have grown internationally and open lines of trade and communication between each other that may not have been possible without NATO. NATO has also intervened diplomatically and militarily to prevent conflicts throughout the world. The United States foreign policy was drastically changed due to NATO. Prior to joining NATO, the United States was mostly isolated from other countries. The lines of communication were opened. The United States emerged as a leader and was even required to mediate international disputes. The Unites States security was strengthened as direct consequence of NATO.

Containment in the 50s and 60s

Many changes were the result of the United States strategy containment. One major change was the expansion of U.S government. Additional bureaucracies were created to handle world issues. For example, the National Security Agency was invented.  Most memorable is the anti-communist hysteria. (LaFeber, 2002)Any person who had views that were contrary to that of the government was accused of being communist. The 50s and 60s were a time of turmoil in the United States. African Americans were fighting for equal rights by trying to overthrow Jim Crow laws. Famous civil rights activist, Dr. Martin Luther King was accused of being a communist.

Foreign Policy Feature

Containment policy influenced the relationship the United States had with Korea, China, and Vietnam. One major issue was that fact that the United States had no dealings with countries that had communist association. Also, the United States was obligated to provide military assistance, economic support, and technical support to any non-communist country that was a part of NATO.  Containment was used as late as the 1990s by the United States. It was termed “Dual Containment”. “This idea can be applied today to any nation which denies another nation the ability to spread its in?uence on other countries. E?ective containment requires clarity about the consequences” (Whelan, 1999).  Obviously, the U. S. attempts did not work because the U.S. still ended up waging war in “Operation Iraqi Freedom”

Proponents and Opponents of Containment

By using the strategy of containment, the United States imposed both negative and positive effects on itself. First, by becoming a member of NATO, the United States had obligated itself to provide aid to any country that was a member of NATO. This could be a negative effect, because even if the United States did not support a particular country’s motive to wage war, it was still obligated to do so. John Gladdis pointed out one negative consequence of containment, “Sanctions and other containment polices only further the ruling elite’s preference for isolation to the regime-threatening dangers of exposure to foreign influences while allowing them to continue ruling unchecked”. (Gladdis, 2007   ) The United States also gained many allies that were obligated to it just as well. Finally, the United States became a power house. Containment strategy opened lines of communication that had not been open prior. The United States became a mediator in many instances, which changed some of the negative view other countries had of America.

References

Gladdis, John, (2007) We now know: rethinking cold war history (Oxford: Oxford University Press).

LaFeber, Walter. (2002) America, ussia and the cold War 1945-2000, New York: McGraw Hill, 9^th Edition

Whelan, Joseph G. (1999) “George f. kennan and his influence on American Foreign Policy”, The Virginia Quarterly Review, 35(2)