Us And The Cold War

Us And The Cold War

To what extent do you agree that the US was primarily responsible for the outbreak of the Cold War?
Stand: both responsible
  1. How US was responsible – Truman Doctrine, imposing free and open markets
  2. How USSR responsible – Security; territory, communism expansion
  3. Both responsible – not clearing up misunderstandings
The Cold War (1945-1990s) is the longstanding conflict between the Communist nations of the Soviet Union (USSR) and the democratic allies led by the United States (US) that was born out of the hostility after their uneasy alliance in World War Two. The mutual tension was a long running issue and subject of debate between the two superpowers for many years, and the Truman Doctrine and Policy of Containment in March 1947 proved to be the spark that signaled the shift in US foreign policy, leading directly to the division of Europe between US and USSR. The Soviets interpreted this as the forced projection of US power and ideals across Europe hence leading to a vicious cycle of actions and reactions of the Cold War. From the West, the initial interpretations blamed the Soviets for being ideologically driven and motivated to expand their communist empire, although this look set to change in the 1960s when the blame shifted to US for imposing demands for open markets in economic self interests and thereby provoking a response from the USSR.   Each side had their own vested interests, and the outbreak of the Cold War is then a joint responsibility as a result of many misunderstandings on and by both sides.
The Americans must certainly bear principal responsibility for the outbreak of the Cold War in the sense that it was the Truman Doctrine which triggered the whole series of events. It showed how the US was stepping out of their isolationist attitudes and their strong stance against communism by offering to support Greece and Turkey with economic aid and military reinforcements to prevent their falling into Soviet sphere....