Within the framework of belligerent periods in the United States, it is difficult to think of a specific incident without pointing to a defining piece of policy. The Cold War era serves as no exception to this notion. As mentioned in the closing remarks of the previous chapter, the response taken by the United States towards the attitude and decisions of the Soviet Union foreshadowed the polarization to come; logically, steps must be taken prior to the cleaving of relations between the two nations.
George Keenan, an American diplomat who played a major role in the development of US policy towards the USSR, comes into the scope of the cold war conflict with much relevance and importance. His work in drafting the “long telegram,” gave the Truman administration insight into the mindset of the Soviet Union while his input in the Clifford-Elsey report synthesized the observations made in the telegram to provide a projected trajectory and in that effect coherent policy recommendations. Following the fabrication of the two documents in 1945 and 1946 respectively, Keenan drafted a classified report, “The Sources of Soviet Conduct,” for Secretary of Defense James V. Forrestal. In it, Keenan drew from his previous writing and experience to develop a road map for the Cold War — a theme which presidents seem fond of, one need only look at the Clinton administration’s involvement in the peace accord between Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat or the Bush administration’s “roadmap to peace.” The report, which was never intended to go public, was eventually published into an article under the nom de plume “The X Article” for Foreign Affairs Magazine upon the urging of its editor Hamilton Armstrong and approval of Secretary of Defense Forrestal.
Ultimately when the author was revealed to be George Keenan, a connection to official government backed policy was made. Keenan felt misunderstood in the statement that “United States policy towards the Soviet Union must be that of a long-term, patient but firm vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies.” This however was not the case and received much flack from high ranking US officials including Secretary of State George Marshall. Despite the means by which the theory was developed and its subsequent misinterpretation by the American public and by some government officials, the US was now headed the direction of global containment geared towards the Soviet Union and its ideology.
The International Review 