Truman Doctrine

The Truman Doctrine was the practical application of American diplomat George F. Kennan’s suggestion, made in his “long telegram” of February 22, 1946, that the former USSR believed that Soviet security relied on indefinite conflict with Western capitalist powers and that, therefore, the expansion of communist forces beyond the lands, which those forces already controlled, should be stopped. This doctrine aimed to stop the spread of communism as a political system, quarantine it, and eventually destroy it. The Truman Doctrine became the keystone of U.S. security and defense policy throughout the Cold War period. While the Truman Doctrine should not be confused with other contemporary policies and practices, such as the European and Asian Recovery Plans or domino theory, all of which had similar ends ...