What do you think was the best of the five observations of George Kennan about the USSR and they way to handle the USSR? Why?

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What do you think was the best of the five observations of George Kennan about the USSR and they way to handle the USSR? Why?

Write 100 words in response to the question.

You don’t need to use any sources but you need to follow the format of MLA

On these assignments, demonstrate critical thinking, originality, and creativity. Therefore, you must personalize your answer so that it is unique or distinctive to you and your own heartfelt ideas. Sometimes, there is a word limit or count but just ignore that and give me as much info as you want. Do not make the mistake of giving me a short, general answer.

 

 

Background

Though the Allied victory in WWII dealt a mortal blow to fascism in Germany and Italy, the vital

contribution of the United Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) to victory elevated the prestige of

communism in some smaller countries around the world but most particularly in Eastern Europe. In

1945 at the Potsdam Conference, the Allies had to concede that the USSR was occupying Eastern

Europe, including East Germany, and would use their influence to create communist governments

in those countries. For the US and Western Europe, the concern was how to deal with the

aggressive efforts of the Soviet Union to spread communism everywhere.

The US diplomat George F. Kennan took a leading role in setting the post-WWII policy. Kennan

acquired firsthand knowledge of the USSR from his years serving in various countries in Eastern

and Central Europe, Switzerland, Germany, Estonia, and Latvia. Kennan even helped establish the

US embassy in Moscow in 1933.

George F. Kennan, 1947

In February 1946, just five months after the war had ended, Kennan as the charge d’affaires in

Moscow responded to inquiries from his superiors in the State Department with an eight-page

telegram, which came to be known as the “Long Telegram.” Kennan apologized for the length of

the telegram but argued that he could not write “a single brief message without yielding to what I

feel would be [a] dangerous degree of over-simplification.”

Kennan’s “Long Telegram”

He asserted several points. First, the Soviet Union could not accept “permanent peaceful

coexistence” with the West. They had a “neurotic view of world affairs,” which was a manifestation

of the “instinctive Russian sense of insecurity.” As a result, the Soviets were deeply suspicious of

all other nations and believed that their security could only be found in “patient but deadly struggle

for total destruction of rival power.” Second, Kennan was convinced that the Soviets would try to

expand their sphere of influence, and he pointed to Iran and Turkey as the most likely immediate

trouble areas. Kennan believed the Soviets would do all they could to “weaken power and

influence of Western Powers on colonial backward, or dependent peoples.” Third, although the

Soviet Union was “impervious to logic of reason,” it was “highly sensitive to logic of force.”

Therefore, it would back down “when strong resistance is encountered at any point.” The United

States and its allies, he concluded, would have to offer that resistance.

Kennan’s telegram caused a sensation in Washington. Stalin’s aggressive speeches and

threatening gestures toward Iran and Turkey in 1945-46 seemed to fulfill his predictions. The

Truman administration reacted with a forceful and tougher stance that contained military and

economic muscle, as well as diplomacy. Washington insiders called it the “Truman Doctrine.”

Kennan’s opinion held the day and is often called “containment” of Soviet expansionism through a

policy of “strong resistance.” The Cold War followed for the next two decades. The US and the

USSR did not confront each other militarily but held proxy wars in the many small countries around

the world – Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, and countries in Latin America and Africa. Kennan’s diplomatic

career certainly received a boost from his influential Long Telegram — he was named US

ambassador to the Soviet Union in 1952.

The source is an excerpt of the Long Telegram that focuses on his five calls to action.

Source

Excerpt from George F. Kennan’s “Long Telegram”