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Example research essay topic: Greece And Turkey Policy Of Containment - 1,188 words

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... sacred. (Op. cit. P. 397) What the Allies could not agree on was the normalization of the rest of Europe, since Stalin had taken immediate steps to see that could not happen based on Russian security needs. The response to this new form of political aggression would trumpet the first salvos of the Cold War.

The trigger, which prompted action, was the chaotic economic situation in Greece. As stated earlier, Churchill proposed and Stalin accepted the division of territory on the half sheet of paper in the Moscow meeting of 1944. By 1946 however, the percentages in most of those territories was 100 % Soviet, 0 % Allied. This naturally caused alarm for Churchill and Truman, who perceived any further communist expansion as a threat. That situation materialized in Greece, when rioting broke out in late 1946 due to the near collapse of the post war relief efforts. Since Great Britain had been the predominant western force in the Mediterranean for decades, Greece and Turkey came under their control with the surrender.

The British economy was itself a disaster at wars end and maintaining two economically deprived offspring made a bad situation worse. Throughout 1946 pressure mounted in Britain to cease aiding the Greeks and Turks and keep the aid home. Thus, the British government turned to their closest ally, which happened to be the wealthiest country on the globe, to assume the burden (Walker). On February 21, 1947 a formal request came to the State Department asking for America to take the task over. Acting Secretary of State Dean Acheson received the documents and briefed new Secretary George Marshall, who in turn alerted President Truman of the crisis. Within a four-day period, the decision was made to go forward and assist both countries with emergency supplies and money.

In a speech before Congress on March 12, 1947 the main tenants of the Truman Doctrine announced to America. The critical passage of Truman's speech was the following: I believe it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures. (Walker 49) The world heard about in the newspapers the following day. By bailing out Greece and Turkey, the United States effectively supplanted Great Britain as the head of the Western world in this area and set the stage for an extended period confrontation with the Soviets. The support was solely to be economic in nature. If asked, the United States would commit military advisors to train native militias. The military would also oversee the reconstruction of basic infrastructure as had been done in Japan.

As the President stated in his address, The Greek Army is small and poorly equipped. It needs supplies and equipment if it is to restore the authority of the Government throughout Greek Territory. (Committee on Foreign Relations: S. 938 pg. VII) President Truman had committed us to the policy of Containment, which had been popularized in Washington by George Keenan, a member of the diplomatic staff in the Russian Embassy in Moscow. Keenan was the famous author of the Long Telegram a 5000 + word document which gave his impressions of Soviet Foreign Policy. That policy was focused on disrupting the balance of power in the Western world. The telegram came to the State Department in early 1946 with ominous predictions about Soviet intentions: To undermine the political and strategic potential of major western powers and for Communists to work toward the destruction of all forms of personal independence, economic, political or moral in foreign countries (May 5) Since President Truman was aware of this general Soviet strategy, when disaster loomed in Greece Truman and his staff were ready to ensure a democratic government would remain.

This would hopefully stop Russian expansion into the region. In his speech before a joint session of Congress on March 12, 1947 the President asked for $ 400, 000, 000 million worth of economic aid for both Greece and Turkey. Also, this was needed for the military advisors for the purpose of supervising the use of such financial aid and the instruction and training of selected Greek and Turkish personnel. (S. 938 pg. XI). Reaction to the Presidents request was swift and vocal. Several senators from the Foreign Relations Committee, notable Democrat Claude Pepper of Florida and Democrat Edwin Johnson, of Colorado, doggedly advised the United Nations and not the United States should take the lead in providing support to Greece and Turkey.

Pepper was adamant that U. S. military advisors should not be used within the boundaries of either country. During Committee hearings, he even quoted a Gallup Poll printed in the Washington Post stating that the majority (of Americans) expressed regret that the problem of Greece was not put to the United Nations in the beginning (S. 938 pg. 107). Also, the public was not in favor of sending military advisors to train Greek and Turkish soldiers.

Consequently, six amendments were added to the original Congressional Draft authorizing the expenditure. These amendments dealt with items allowed to be purchased (food, construction equipment, and medical supplies). Also, wording was added to satisfy some critics, tying in the relief as part of the United Nations goals (S. 938 pg. 221 - 224. The public support for the aid package was overwhelming. The issue of military advisors was not. The more famous Marshall Plan followed the announcement of the Truman Doctrine within that year.

This was a direct financial and economic aid package to Western Europe designed to get them back on their feet through a vigorous rebuilding effort. Economically sound countries were not the breeding ground for Communist Party breakthroughs reasoned Truman and he was correct. The policy of Containment would be strengthened as each country in itself got stronger. Further evidence of the power of Truman's Cold War policy of using economic means to stop Russian goals occurred on Monday June 28, 1948 with the Berlin Airlift. When Stalin had decided the Allied presence deep inside the Eastern Zone of Germany was a threat he ordered the starvation of the city by blockading all roads into and out of Berlin around the Allied sectors. Truman again was forceful in ordering a round-the-clock air relief campaign, which lasted seven days a week for eleven months.

As David McCullough writes in his biography, Truman, the Berlin Airlift was about to become one of the most brilliant American achievements of the postwar era, strongly affecting the whole course of the Cold War (McCullough 631). From Korea, to Vietnam, Hungary, Cuba, China, Afghanistan, back to Germany and the Soviet Union itself, the interests outlined in the Truman Doctrine versus what Stalin and his successors waged against the Capitalists were deadlocked. A great debt is owed to President Truman, his staff, the United Nations, and the men who fought in battle. The Truman Doctrine served as a starting point for the Cold War, which ultimately ended with the collapse of the Communist rule and the disbanding of the Soviet Union. Truman helped save the Western world with his aid to Greece and Turkey in 1947. Bibliography:


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Research essay sample on Greece And Turkey Policy Of Containment

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