The Evolution of US Global Strategy: From the Monroe Doctrine to Cold War Containment

Evaluation of 21st-Century US Security and Vulnerability

• Despite the common perception of vulnerability in the early twenty-first century, the historical reality is complex.

• Significant losses of American life occurred during this period:

  • Over $2,600$ Americans died in the September $11$, $2001$ hijackings and suicide plane attacks.

  • Approximately $15,000$ US service members and contractors were killed in armed conflicts related to the War on Terror, including the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq over the following $20$ years.

• The death toll from these 21st-century conflicts represents a level of casualties unseen by the United States since the withdrawal of combat troops from South Vietnam in $1973$.

• While these figures suggest a weakness in security or constant danger from foreign aggressors, the speaker argues that this impression is not supported by broader historical and geopolitical evidence.

The Monroe Doctrine and 19th-Century Territorial Expansion

• The Monroe Doctrine ($1823$): Established by President James Monroe, this policy placed the Americas (the Western Hemisphere) under the sphere of influence of the United States.

  • It declared that any intervention by European powers in the Americas would be considered a "hostile act."

  • The doctrine established the concept of an "extraterritorial dominion" under Washington’s control.

  • It served to make US interventions in other countries appear "natural and legitimate" to American eyes, even if perceived as hostile by the local populations.

• Continental Expansion: Throughout the rest of the $19th$ century, the US government conquered and annexed the territory that constitutes the modern continental United States.

• Late 19th-Century Imperialism:

  • In the late $1800s$, the US began expanding its reach beyond the continent.

  • Spanish-American War ($1898$): This conflict led to the occupation of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.

  • The Philippines is located $8,600$ miles from Washington D.C., representing a significant departure from the original Western Hemisphere focus of the Monroe Doctrine.

• By the time the US defeated the Spanish Armada from Havana to Manila, it had entered global competition with major European empires like Great Britain and France.

The Open Door Policy and Economic Imperialism

• Open Door Policy ($1899$): Proposed by Secretary of State John Hay, primarily to gain access to markets in China.

  • Officially, it was framed as a commercialist strategy to promote trade rather than seizing resources.

  • In reality, the policy enmeshed US government interests with those of private American capitalists.

  • There was a tendency to treat the financial concerns of well-connected firms as equivalent to national interests.

• Implementation: The policy did not create a "level playing field." Instead, it allowed the US government and investors to participate in imperial competition to secure "super profits" and revenue streams similar to those established by London and Paris.

Post-World War II Hegemony and Globalized Monroe Doctrine

• Globalization of the Monroe Doctrine: US presidents in the post-WWII era began applying the principles of the Monroe Doctrine worldwide.

• Domino Theory / Contagion Thinking: The belief that outside actions contrary to US preferences anywhere would spread and contaminate other nations unless stopped.

• The "Rotten Apple" Metaphor: Formulated by Dean Acheson (adviser to Harry Truman and architect of the Truman Doctrine):

  • Acheson argued that, "Like apples in a barrel infected by one rotten one, the corruption of Greece would infect Iran and all to the East."

  • He predicted the "infection" would spread to Africa (through Turkey and Egypt) and Europe (through Italy and France).

• 21st Century Interpretation: In the context of the War on Terror, pundits argue that "Las Vegas rules do not apply to the Middle East," meaning "What happens in the Middle East does not stay in the Middle East," justifying continuous US intervention.

The Bipolar World Order: US vs. Soviet Union

• Post-WWII Dominance: At the end of World War II, the United States was historically dominant, controlling half of the global GDP.

• Dynamics of Recovery: While the relative share of US GDP dropped as Germany, England, and France rebuilt, the US remained the dominant power.

• The Soviet Union: A "behemoth" created in $1922$, stretching over $11$ time zones and encompassing Russia and $13$ other socialist republics.

• Cold War ($1947$-$1989$): A period of bipolarity characterized by competition between the US-led West and the Soviet-led East.

  • NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (US-led capitalist states).

  • Warsaw Pact: The Soviet-led alliance of communist states.

  • Non-Aligned Movement: Countries like India that did not align with either superpower.

• Bipolarity vs. Multipolarity:

  • Bipolarity: A system with two "Poles" (superpowers) far more powerful than all others.

  • Multipolarity: A system with multiple "Great Powers" capable of projecting military force over large distances (e.g., Germany, Japan, Italy, Soviet Union, France, UK, and US at the start of WWII).

Forms of Great Power Competition

1. Economic Competition:

   • A race to accumulate wealth and the means of production (industry, human capital, trade in commodities).

   • Expansion occurred via direct colonial control or indirect commercial trade meant to bring profits back to the home government.

2. Ideological Competition:

   • A battle over how societies and the world should be governed.

   • Capitalism (US): Promoted political systems with a strong private sector, secure property rights for investors, and opportunities for profit. This included multiparty democracies, military juntas, or hereditary monarchs, provided they offered business opportunities.

   • Communism (Soviet Union): Promoted systems with restricted private property, state control of resources, and a single-party political system aligned with the Communist Party.

Ten Milestones of the Cold War Context

1. Post-WWII Eastern Bloc: The Soviet Union moved to control $6$ Eastern European countries.

2. $1949$: Communists took power in China, overthrowing the nationalist government.

3. $1950$-$1953$: The Korean War, resulting in the partition of Korea into the Republic of Korea (South) and communist North Korea.

4. $1953$ and $1954$: The first two major US-led regime change plots (coups in Iran and Guatemala).

5. $1959$ (New Year's Day): Communists took power in Cuba.

6. $1962$: The Cuban Missile Crisis; the closest the US and USSR came to a nuclear exchange.

7. $1954$-$1975$: The Vietnam War (called the "American War" by the Vietnamese).

8. $1979$: The creation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, removing a major anti-communist ally (Mohammed Reza Pahlavi).

9. $11/09/2020$: The Turning point when the Berlin Wall falls (as stated in transcript), leading to German reunification and the end of communism in Eastern Europe.

10. $1991$: The Soviet Union dissolves into Russia and $13$ former republics.

The Truman Doctrine and Containment Strategy

• The Truman Doctrine ($1947$): Established by Harry S. Truman to help Greece and Turkey resist Soviet influence.

  • Framed as a defensive measure to keep the Soviet Union out of Southern Europe.

  • Financial Request: Truman asked Congress for $400,000,000$ for the period ending $06/30/1948$ (approximately $5,000,000,000$ today when adjusted for inflation).

  • Requested the detail of American civilian and military personnel to supervise and assist reconstruction.

• Verbatim Excerpt from Truman's Speech: "Totalitarian regimes imposed upon free peoples by direct or indirect aggression undermine the foundations of international peace and hence the security of the United States. … The seeds of totalitarian regimes are nurtured by misery and wrong. They spread and grow in the evil soil of poverty and strife."

• Containment: A strategy expanded from the Truman Doctrine and codified in NSC $68$ ($1950$).

  • NSC $68$ Reality: Recognized the US was far more developed than the USSR.

  • NSC $68$ Rhetoric: Used alarmist language, describing the Soviet Union as seeking "absolute authority over the rest of the world" and challenging "civilization itself."

  • Four Goals of Containment:

    1. Block further expansion of Soviet power.

    2. Expose the falsities of Soviet pretensions.

    3. Induce a retraction of the Kremlin's control and influence.

    4. Foster the seeds of destruction within the Soviet system to modify its behavior.