Truman Doctrine or the Marshall Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Truman Doctrine or the Marshall Plan - Essay Example The Truman Doctrine came into being in 1947. It signalled a break with previous US foreign policy and undoubtedly contributed to the bitter rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. While the United States had previously pursued a policy of non-intervention and had hoped to return to this policy following the conclusion of the war, the Truman Doctrine effectively prevented this. Instead, it defined a policy of intervention in European domestic affairs as an extension of American national interests. Most specifically, the Truman Doctrine aimed to contain and curtail the power of the Soviet Union within Europe. Hence, upon being informed by the British forces that Great Britain could no longer afford to maintain a military presence in Greece for the purposes of fighting the Greek communist threat, the United States covered the cost of the operation. The point here is that the United States, irrespective of the concept of European nationalism and regardless of the Soviet U nion's own European identity and continental affiliation, had decided that intervention for the purposes of containing the spread of Soviet influence was both its right and duty. The consequence of its doing so was the division of Europe into East and West, into the Communist and the Liberal/Democratic blocs. The Marshall Pl