The purpose of this assignment is to acquire knowledge of the main political doctrine that informed U.S. policy towards the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
Post: In 1946, an American diplomat stationed in Moscow, George Kennan, sent a 8,000-word telegram to the Department of State in Washington DC analyzing the nature of Soviet Union’s foreign policy. Kennan’s report, known as “long telegram,” provided the United States with a hypothetical framework to contain Soviet expansionism during the Cold War. After reading the original document Download original document, write a 500-word post responding to the following questions:
- What is the Soviet Union’s worldview? Why do they fear the western world?
- What actions are the Soviets likely to take and how should the United States respond?
- Does Kennan believe the United States should go to war against the Soviet Union?
- What weaknesses does Kennan suggest the Soviet Union possesses that could serve as an advantage to the United States?
- What is “containment”?