Murzynski Jeff A35387571 April 2, 2008
Paper Topic #2 The Beginning of the Cold War
The Cold War began in the early post-WWII years and led to a hat war between the two ideological camps, capitalist-democracy and soviet communism. The relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union progressively became adversarial between 1945 and the eve of the Korean War. The political and military dimensions between to the two sides, along with economic and personalities of the leaders, led to this growing tension between the two countries. At the end of WWII, the two remaining powers, the Soviet Union and the United States, had different goals and visions of the world that would come from the war. The United States wanted Europe to be under self-determination and to expand its trade ability in the world. The Soviet Union wanted a sphere of influence in the territory surrounding it. At the end of WWII, the Soviets had lost 20 million soldiers, 66% of heavy industry, and 41% of its railways. Security was a key issue to the soviets. These goals were seen first in the Yalta Conference. The Yalta Conference was held on February 4, 1945, in the Black Sea resort. Roosevelt asked for the Soviet support against the Japanese in the Pacific. Churchill wanted free elections and democratic governments in Eastern Europe. Stalin came demanding a Soviet sphere of influence, which he felt was necessary for USSR national security. Stalin agreed that the Soviet Union would enter the United Nations because of its ability to use a veto in the Security
Council. The Soviets also agreed to fight Japan 90 days after the German defeat. The parties agreed that Germany would be split into three zones, along with Berlin at the end of the war, with the opportunity for France to have a zone also. The issue of Poland's future was touched on. It was agreed that USSR would keep what it annexed and Poland would get territory from Germany. Stalin promised free elections, even though it had established a communist puppet government. These free elections would not occur and Poland became officially socialist in 1947. The true importance of the conference was the goals of influence in the freed countries. The US wanted universalism, and the Soviets wanted a sphere of influence and that any non-communist country would be an anti-communist country. After the defeat of Germany, another meeting occurred and the Potsdam Agreement was formed. The Potsdam Agreement divided Germany into four zones. Poland gained more territory from Germany. The United States recognized the provisional unitary government that had been put into place. Questions arose in the United States when the Soviets refused to join the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. In February 1946, the United States Treasury asked the U.S. Embassy in Moscow why the Soviets were not supporting these institutions. George Kennan, a mid level State Department employee in the US embassy in Moscow, wrote the Long Telegram outlining his opinions and views of the Soviets. He split the telegram into five parts; Basic features of post-war soviet outlook, background of outlook, projection of Soviet outlook in practical policy on official level, projection of unofficial level, and practical deductions from standpoint of US Policy.
Kennan determined the USSR believed that capitalism and communism is directly opposed to each other and socialism and democracy was not allies. Kennan stated that Stalin's propaganda generates this view in the USSR. He also states that the Soviets only views the world from their inner-Russia necessities; traditional sense of insecurity based throughout the history of Russia. Kennan also concluded that Stalin does not listen to foreign governments when they make their case to him and the USSR would use controllable Marxists in the capitalist world as allies The Soviet government's structure objective prohibited or accurate pictures of internal and external reality was concluded. The fifth section of the Long Telegram proposed US strategy against the Soviets. Kennan argued that the Soviets would respond to force and resistance and was vulnerable to internal instability. He also argued for the education of the public about communism and a healthy US society is important. Also he wanted formulate, for other nations, a positive and constructive picture of the world we want to live in, better than in the past. The Long Telegram led to the Truman Doctrine. Truman addressed Congress on March 12, 1947. He declared that US foreign policy would be to assist any country whose stability is threatened by communism. Truman also stated that the US would help Greece and Turkey. The Truman Doctrine began the policy of containment. Truman pushed the Marshall Plan for the reconstruction of Europe and Japan. Truman's goal was to rebuild Europe and repel communism. The soviets rejected the plan, calling it dollar imperialism. The US ended up giving about USD 13 billion in aid and technological assistance. In Greece, Truman formally used the containment policy. The British could no longer financially afford to support the Greek militarist, anti-communist, regime and
asked for US support. Dean Acherson said it was a Soviet conspiracy to expand into the Middle East, Asia and Africa; this was the birth of the Domino Theory and Truman Doctrine. In Iran, the Soviets refused to withdraw its troops in the north after the end of WWII. The Soviets did not want to leave, because of Iran's resources of oil and it was a natural supply line to them. The Soviets supported groups opposed to the monarch Iran regime. USSR also wanted a warm sea port in the Black Sea. The Soviets left in May 1946 after receiving promises of oil concessions and the US placed a friendly leader in Iran. The biggest problem in the end of Truman's era was the loss of China. China had been in a civil war for a couple of decades. The Chinese Communist Party led by Sun Yat Sen in the beginning and received aid from the Soviets. Mao Zedong later became the leader of the communist movement and pushed Chiang Kai Shek to Taiwan. The US had been giving aid to Shek through Gen. Marshall. With the lost of China to the communist in 1949, the US lost an ally in restraining Soviet expansion. China was suppose to be the forth cop, but now Japan would have to take its spot. The US also saw this as a conspiracy by the Soviets. Truman suffered much criticism for losing China and lead to him not receiving a second term. This leads to the unwillingness of future administrations of not sticking it out, due to the political fallout. The US had for its best defense was the nuclear bomb monopoly. This came to an end in 1949 when the USSR detonated its first nuclear weapon. This led to an escalation of the containment policy. These events help create the National Security Council Report 68. It made a case for a US military buildup to confront the Soviets. The United States
existed in a polarized world, in which the Soviets wished to "impose its absolute authority over the rest of the world." NSC 68 drew upon the Long Telegram by Kennan. NSC 68 called for defending the Western Hemisphere and other allied areas in order that their war-making capabilities can be developed, provide and protect a mobilize base while the offensive forces require for victory were being built up, and provide aid to the allies to insure the execution of their role in the tasks given. This helped the US quadruple its defense spending. Major world events helped the United States and the Soviet Union separate from its previous relationship to an adversarial one. These event helped create new foreign policies and highlighted the theological differences between democracy and communism; capitalism vs. socialism.