When looking back on United States diplomacy during the Cold War it is apparent that the advancements in foreign policy achieved were often marred by embarrassing political incidents. President Harry Truman played a significant role in the creation of a Cold War between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Immediately following the end of World War II President Truman set a precedent for American foreign policy by creating the Truman Doctrine. In a 1947 speech at Baylor University, the leader of the United State

Perhaps the most significant failures of the United States policy of communist containment during the Cold War occurred in its use of military aggression and espionage to control third world governments of the nations South Korea, Indochina, the Middle East, and Latin America. The war over South Korea that began with a triumphant victory over communist forces in North Korea ended in a tactical stalemate and created an adversarial relationship between the People's Republic of China and the United States. The Korean War was a bitter pill for Americans to swallow at a cost 164 billion dollars, 140,000 American casualties, and no true victory for either side involved in the conflict. The war in Vietnam produced similar results although it left deeper scars on the soul of America. Involvement in Vietnam begun for the United States in the late 1950's when the French were struggling to maintain control over their colonial empire in Asia. In the 1960's U. S. began a campaign of espionage which later led to the assassination of the South Vietnamese president and the introduction of ground troops. Pressure from protesters and general public disapproval during the late 1960's and early 1970's forced the federal government to initiate peace negotiations. When the last of the American troops left Saigon in 1975 it signaled a devastating defeat for the military might of the United States and the end of the longest war in American history. Further attempts by the United States to use the Central Intelligence Agency to commit acts of espionage to manipulate the governments in Latin America and the Middle East resulted in political disasters that would have dire consequences in the decades to come. These actions would also set a precedent for the United States - providing support leaders that were friendly to the U. S. but who led their countries through torture, intimidation, and oppression.

After examining the lasting effects of the Cold war and evaluating the end results of the United States policy of communist containment it is difficult to find any positive, lasting effects. When looking back on this forty year period in American history it leaves the impression that the Cold War was a time when the United States wasted a vast amount of energy and resources. In the end, the failures of American foreign policy during the Cold War have caused many to question whether communism was truly defeated by capitalism or if communism simply defeated itself. One thing is certain, the collapse of communism has left the world with a stockpile of nuclear weapons and in a state of unstable but peaceful coexistence. We can only hope that the lessons learned from the years of suspicion, secrecy, and paranoia are not lost on future generations.

s proclaimed that the containment of communism was necessary to ensure "peace and the freedom of all Americans" (p.837)

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Approximate Word count = 1933
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)