Prathmesh Rai, B.A. (Hons.) Global Affairs 2019.
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The American policy of containment was a policy that was used not specifically against the USSR but was more towards the growth of communism. The policy of containment was a launchpad used by the US to stop the spread of communism, however, containment led to confrontations with the USSR, leading to the escalation of tensions during the Cold War. The Berlin blockade in 1948 was the first time the US used its policy of containment after WW2 which led to increased tensions, whereas in Korea, containment was pursued in the form of war, and in Cuba containment failed militarily, however, the USSR was politically contained. Overall, containment escalated tensions during the Cold War, nevertheless, it did stop the spread of communism in patches such as Korea and Berlin. The aftermath of the Cuban crisis led to Detente, which was a direct outcome of the American containment strategy.
In 1948, the USSR began their blockade of Berlin, where they closed all roads to Berlin as the Soviets had a military advantage around Berlin due to it being in the Soviet zone after WW2. The aim behind the blockade was to gain control over the entire German territory and to use it as a buffer zone against the Western powers. Stalin felt that as the Soviets captured Berlin from Nazi Germany, the Soviets were the ones who should rightfully control the whole of Berlin, leading to the blockade. The Western powers did not want war with Soviets as war with Nazi Germany was already a costly affair. However, the US President Harry Truman was not willing to allow the Soviets to succeed and for the first time, containment against communism was used in the form of the Berlin airlift as it was a plan that avoided war with the USSR and was capable of supplying the people in the blockaded area of Berlin. The airlift was so triumphant that the Soviets were unwillingly forced to open the blockade as their goal of isolating Berlin from the Western influence had failed. The Berlin airlift was a huge propaganda victory for the West and especially the US as their policy of containment was able to stop the spread of communism. However, it did escalate tensions in between the superpowers, especially with the division of Germany and the creation of NATO, whose existence came about to stop the spread of communism and for fulfilling the policy of containment.
The Korean war was the first direct contact made by the USSR and the US in the cold war, however, it was not the US or the USSR who started the tension, instead, the Koreans ignited the conflict, which eventually enveloped both the superpowers. North Korea and South Korea are two countries that have been rivals since the time of their creation. After WW2, North Korea was under USSR and South Korea was under the US, however, the leader of South Korea, Syngman Rhee, and the leader of North Korea, Kim Il Sung wanted to unite the Korean Peninsula under one rule, which led to the buildup of tensions. It was North Korea that invaded the South in 1950 leading to the crisis and they were supported by the USSR, but predominantly by the People’s Republic of China. The US intervened with the UN to aid South Korea, as the US feared that if South Korea fell other Asian countries might also become communist, the US feared that a ‘domino effect’ might happen in Asia, thus the US followed its policy of containment in order to contain the growth of communism which led to the Korean War. The use of containment was appreciated by many countries, yet again, it flared up tensions and it was clear that the superpowers were deeply absorbed in the Cold war. However, the Korean war showed that the US was not willing to back down even if it had to go to war, as its main aim was to stop communism and to stop the ‘domino effect’ using containment, which in turn led to the development of the Warsaw Pact by the USSR in order to counter NATO in Europe in 1955, thus the policy of containment in Korea led to the brewing of tensions in Europe, proving that the cold war was a global phenomenon.
Cuba was a different situation as opposed to Berlin or Korea because in the Korean and Berlin case the communist were the aggressors, whereas in Cuba even though Fidel Castro did come to power, he was not aggressive at first, instead, America showed aggression by carrying out the Bay of Pigs invasion and training pro-Batista Cubans with the CIA however, the invasion failed and so did containment in Cuba in 1961. However, eventually, it was containment that was able to halt the spread of communism politically as the US was able to negotiate with the USSR for the removal of the missiles placed in Cuba by the USSR in 1962, which was to threaten the US and to force the US to remove its nuclear weapons from Turkey, this was a classic example of nuclear deterrence. The missiles in Cuba were welcomed by Castro as Castro desired to use it as a way to spread communism in Latin America, however, America was able to force a naval quarantine/blocked upon Cuba, whilst were also putting diplomatic pressure on the USSR. The Cuban crisis was a different scenario when compared to Korea and Berlin as it was a crisis that led to the de-escalation of the cold war and entered the period of ‘peaceful coexistence’ or Detente, whereas Korea and Berlin led to the escalation in tensions. Therefore, containment led to the calming down of the cold war in the aftermath of the Cuban crisis in 1962.
In conclusion, the American policy of containment was a policy that was used to stop the spread of communism by the US and its allies. The use of containment led to an escalation in tensions in between the US and the USSR in Berlin and Korea, however, the negotiations and diplomatic pressure exerted by America during the Cuban crisis led to the calming down of matter in between the superpowers as the cold war went into a silent phase or Detente after the Cuban crisis. Containment in its early stages escalated tensions, whereas, by the 60s, containment helped reduce tensions and brought a period of ‘peaceful coexistence’.
Sources:
1) Pieper, M., 2012. Containment And The Cold War: Reexamining The Doctrine Of Containment As A Grand Strategy Driving US Cold War Interventions. [online] Inquiries Journal. Available at: <https://www.google.com/amp/www.inquiriesjournal.com/amp/672/containment-and-the-cold-war-reexaming-the-doctrine-of-containment-as-a-grand-strategy-driving-us-cold-war-interventions> [Accessed 31 August 2020].
2) Aksakov, A., 2017. Washington's Cold War Containment Strategy Is Still Alive And Well. [online] Stratfor. Available at: <https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/washingtons-cold-war-containment-strategy-still-alive-and-well> [Accessed 31 August 2020].
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