Question

Describe the policy of containment during the Cold War. What was the goal of the containment policy?

Answer 1

the policy of containment was introduced by Truman once communism had begun to spread. Truman , much like the leaders of europe, feared that communism would creep its way through europe and into their countries. russia was communist at the time which caused tension between the imperialists and capatilists , the goal of containment was to prevent communism from spreading out of control. Thus that is how the cold war slowly came about with the us getting involved to resolve issues and keep their policy of containment

Answer 2

Answer: The policy of containment set the tone for US foreign policy by focusing on keeping communism and the Soviet Union's influence limited, rather than by trying to confront the Soviet Union directly or eliminate communism completely.

Context/details:

George F. Kennan recommended the policy of containment which set the tone for US involvement in world relations following World War II. Kennan was an American diplomat in Moscow after World War II. In 1946, he sent what became known as "the long telegram" of his advice about what the USA needed to do about the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). It really was a long telegram -- it totaled 8,000 words.

In those days, everyone feared an ultimate confrontation between the USA and the USSR -- that the Cold War would someday explode into a massive heated conflict between the superpowers. Kennan, in Moscow, had much foresight to see the internal problems the USSR had. He advised not pushing the conflict too much, but instead just try to "contain" the Soviet Union and wait for their system to collapse under the weight of its own problems. Kennan was right. It took almost 50 years, but eventually the communist system in the USSR fell apart. [The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics came to an end in 1991.]