Truman Doctrine
From Freepedia
The Truman Doctrine was a political response to Soviet aggression in Europe, illustrated through the communist movements in Iran, Turkey and Greece. As a result, American foreign policy towards Russia shifted, as George F. Kennan phrased it, to that of containment. Under the Truman Doctrine, the United States was prepared to send any money, equipment or military force to countries which were threatened by the communist government.
U.S. President Harry S. Truman made the proclamation in an address to the U.S. Congress on March 12, 1947 amid the crisis of the Greek Civil War (1946-1949). The doctrine was specifically aimed at assisting governments resisting communism. Truman insisted that if Greece and Turkey did not receive the aid that they needed, they would inevitably fall to communism with the result being a domino effect of acceptance of communism throughout the region.
Truman signed the act into law on May 22, 1947 which granted $400 million in military and economic aid to Turkey and Greece.
The Truman Doctrine also contributed to America's first involvements in the Vietnam War. Truman attempted to aid France's bid to hold onto its Vietnamese colonies. The United States supplied French forces with equipment and military advisors in order to combat a young Ho Chi Minh and communist revolutionaries.
The joint U.S-South African financing of the Renamo resistance movement in Mozambique can be seen as an example of Truman's legacy at work. Policymakers in Washington feared that a reasonably successful Communist state in the heartland of sub-Saharan Africa would cause neighbouring countries to adopt the socialist development model.
See Also
- Marshall Plan - The Marshall Plan put the Truman Doctrine to use in post-war Germany.
- Vietnam War
