Truman Doctrine

The Truman Doctrine has been put in place. This is a scheme by American President Harold Truman, to stop the spread of communism. The plan is to give countries like Greece and Turkey, who are bordering the communist sphere which is ever growing, by giving them money and AID for protection against the Soviet shadow which is looming. As a leader he was strongly against communism, and therefore it's uprising in Eastern and Central Europe needed to be stopped in his view. This was one of Americas political plans of 'containment', in which they would contain communism, in order to try and prevent the up and coming USSR from being an equal world superpower to themselves. This aiding of Turkey and Greece alienated Joseph Stalin, who saw this as an indirect attack on himself and his belief. At the end of WW2, they were wartime allies against the Reich, even if they had opposite idealogies in power. Stalin saw Truman as a political rival, and realised that his Doctrine was an attempt to stop the spread of communism through Europe. Churchills Iron Curtain speech further supported the Truman Doctrine, which is why it was put in place, as Britain had previously aided Greece. Stalin saw this as a threat to communism, and therefore this is seen to be the first in the series of threats and advances with no blood-shed...The Cold War.