Cold War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Cold War - Essay Example Keeping the political and economic interests, Truman decided to confront with the expansionist Russia from an ideological vantage. He declared that his government would do anything to help the nations of the world to keep their liberty upright. But his intention to contain the communist expansionism lies at the hindsight of this policy. This policy of containment remains the sole baseline of the US policy throughout the whole Cold War. Indeed, all of Truman’s successors, more or less, endeavored to implement his policy of containment in different contexts with measures. Mainly two goals, namely supporting democracy and containment of communism, dominated the US policy for the Cold War. In his â€Å"Joint Address Before Congress† he unequivocally declares, â€Å"Greece must have assistance if it is to become a self-supporting and self-respecting democracy.† (Truman 3) The United States’ policy of containment was essentially the result of President Trumanâ⠂¬â„¢s reaction to the Communist expansion intention. In the Potsdam conference, it became clear that the Soviet leaders had no intention to retreat from their wartime position in Europe and the Middle East. ... Truman’s perception of this communist threat was evident in the â€Å"Joint Address before Congress† in March 12, 1947: Moreover, the disappearance of Greece as an independent State would have a profound effect upon those countries in Europe whose peoples are struggling against great difficulties to maintain their freedoms and their independence while they repair the damages of war. (Truman 5) Now the question is what threats Truman perceived because of the communist militias Greece, Turkey and Iran. It is clearly evident in the following part of his address that a sole intention to support democracy and to majority of the people’s opinion in contradiction against the anarchist communist minority. There might be the economic interests which might provoke Truman to raise his voice for democracy in those countries. Even if there was any, he wanted to fulfill those economic interests of the United States by collaborating with the majority of the people, not against their will, as the Soviet authority wanted. Truman’s perception of the communist threat is also evident in the following speech: â€Å"The very existence of the Greek state is today threatened by the terrorist activities of several thousand armed men, led by Communists† (Truman 2). Moreover, Truman might perceive that a sustainable democratic Europe was more congenial to the United States’ economic and political interests in this region. He envisaged that â€Å"an independent and economically sound State is clearly no less important to the freedom-loving peoples of the world than the future of Greece† (Truman 3). But the reason behind his emphasis on the retaining democracy was not only that the US is a democratic country but also that democracy is such a