The Truman Doctrine
The Truman DoctrineThe Truman Doctrine was the impetus for the change in United
States foreign policy, from isolationist to internationalists; thus
we were drawn into two wars of containment and into world affairs. The
Truman Doctrine led to a major change in U.S. foreign policy from its
inception - aid to Turkey and Greece - to its indirect influence in
Korea and Vietnam. The aftermath of World War II inspired the U.S. to
issue a proclamation that would stem Communist influence throughout
the world. However, our zeal in that achievement sent our soldiers to
die in Vietnam and Korea for a seemingly futile cause.
It must be the policy of the U.S. to support free peoples.
This is no more than a frank recognitions that totalitarian regimes
imposed on free peoples . . .undermine the foundations of . . . peace
and security of the United States.
The Truman Doctrine would change the foreign policy of the
United States and the world. This policy would first go in aid to
support the democratic regimes in Turkey and Greece. These nations
were being threatened by Soviet-supported rebels seeking to topple the
government and install a Communist regime. The Soviets were also
making extreme territorial demands especially concerning the
Dardanelles. A direct influence of this Doctrine was, of course, the
Marshall Plan. The Marshall Plan was designed to give aid to any
European country damaged during World War II. It tremendously helped
ravaged European nations such as Italy and France. By helping them
economically, the Marshall Plan indirectly helped to stem growing
Communist sentiment in these countries.
The process whereby the Truman Doctrine came to fruition was a
long and arduous one. After World War II, the Soviet Union and the
United States stood at the pinnacle of world power. By the late '40's,
the U.S.S.R. had caught up to the United States' nuclear weapons
programs. In addition, they were very land-hungry. Throughout Russia's
history, they have been in search of a port - a quest advanced further
by Peter the Great and Catherine the Great. The Soviets in that
respect were direct threats to their non-Communist neighbors: Greece,
Turkey, and Iran.
In Iran, the U.S.S.R. was not evacuating Iran's northern
provinces despite entreaties from the United States. In Turkey, the
Soviet Union coveted several naval bases along the Straits of
Dardanelles. Further, they pressured Turkey for border cessions that
Turkey had taken from Russia after World War I. In Greece, the Soviets
encouraged the insurgent leader Markos Vafiades with arms and economic
support. The British troops helping the Grecian government were
strangled of supplies due to poor economic times in Britain. Also,
further territorial requisitions to Yugoslavia, Albania, and Bulgaria
were being made.
Seeing the deteriorating U.S. - Soviet relations, Truman
issued...
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