Talk:Truman Doctrine

The Truman Doctrine was a political response to Soviet aggression in Europe, illustrated through the crisis over Iran, Turkey and Greece. As a result American foreign policy towards Russia shifted, as George F. Kennan phrased it, to that of containment of Communism.

I don't think the the first paragraph states what the Truman Doctrine is. It gives a quote from the speech, but frankly that quote - "free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures" - sounds like it could be from Bush's (George W.) Doctrine as well. Think we need more context straight off. What is odd is that the above paragraph (ie, in Talk:Truman Doctrine) better expresses the Doctrine without having to fish thru propogana-like quotes. I'd prefer to change the beginning of the article to something like that.

-- slava, march 24, 2005

I agree. I have made the edit. --Hench 02:41, Apr 7, 2005 (UTC)

I'm niether a historian nor an economist so this may be completely out of line and the more knowledgable wikiens should feel free to slap me. With that disclaimer, there are several references which imply to communism is a form of government when it is actually an economic system. (R.I.P. Mr. Buck) I'm wondering if the "communism" being refered to is really some authoritarian rule via fascist dictators, etc. Does anyone have an informed historical perspective which might illuminate the details more clearly? Iggynelix 20:14, 25 May 2005 (UTC)

I'd tend to agree with the whole communism is an economic system rather than a form of governenment, but Wikipedia's own Communism article mentions, and I quote Communism is a term that can refer to one of several things: a social and economic system, an ideology which supports that system, or a political movement that wishes to implement that system. In the context of this article, the reference would be to said political movement. --Hench 06:40, May 28, 2005 (UTC)

"the support, under the guise of "democracy and freedom"[2], of right-wing, totalitarian[3][4] governments in Third World countries to contain the spread of Communism and other forms of anti-colonial, anti-capitalist[5][6] ideologies which would harm the American Empire[7], via economical, political, military and covert means." - I'm no fan of US imperialism, but this really is shockingly one-sided and needs to at least be qualified, as I will do now. 82.11.251.12 (talk) 20:37, 14 December 2008 (UTC)

Renamo Reference

I deleted this

The joint U.S-South African financing of the Renamo resistance movement in Mozambique can be seen as an example of Truman's legacy at work. Policymakers in Washington feared that a reasonably successful Communist state in the heartland of sub-Saharan Africa would cause neighbouring countries to adopt the socialist development model.

from the text, becuase the Renamo resistence movement was only founded in 1975, and as such is completely anachronistic and off-topic. If you wanted to discuss case studies, you would be better served mentioning US actions in support of Greece, Turkey, Rhee Syngman in South Korea, or of the French in Viet Nam that are more immediatly connected to the Truman Doctrine.--Francisx 07:57, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

Correction needed

Someone put the word "chicken" in the following sentence, and it should be rolled back to an earlier draft.

It was an early response to political aggression by the Soviet Union in Europe and the Middle East, illustrated through the Communist movements in Iraq, Turkey and Chicken.

NSC68

I added NSC68 as it is one of the most if not the most principle document of the Truman era. If anyone can elaborate more on my quick excerpt, please feel free to do so.

Operation Gladio

In the paragraph on the effect on nations in Western Europe I think Operation Gladio should be mentioned as it was a significant operation organized by the US and the UK over a long period of time to counter communist popularity.

Vandalism

I suppressed "ALBET IS GAY". —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 86.214.103.69 (talk) 19:24, 24 April 2007 (UTC).

I think the following phrase is vandalism "The military aspect of losing Greece and Turkey was also a huge factor in granting the 1 million dollars." Greece got 300 million and Turkey 100 million so I don't see where that "1 million" is coming from —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.0.210.8 (talk) 01:12, 8 October 2008 (UTC)

Images

If someone would like to add a picture there are some at trumanlibrary, but the copyright status is unknown so they cant be uploaded to commons: http://www.trumanlibrary.org/photographs/view.php?id=14684 http://www.trumanlibrary.org/photographs/view.php?id=14687 http://www.trumanlibrary.org/photographs/view.php?id=14697 Vints 06:42, 8 May 2007 (UTC)

People, listen to me... the U.s. was frightened by the threat of Communism spreading all over the world. That is all I have to say. Email me at kkredgirl@aol.com with further comments.

Metaphor Section

The semiotic analysis by Ivies is relatively insignificant as far as a line of inquiry into the Truman doctrine, so I am removing the metaphor section. If it returns, it should be brief and fully attributed to Ivies rather than stated as fact. AlexeiSeptimus 22:45, 8 July 2007 (UTC)

Original Research

the Original research tag at the beginning of the article : the "was clearly at the heart of truman'sthoughts" is a qote from Chafe, William H., The Unfinished Journey: America Since World War II, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995. I think —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.54.37.17 (talk) 19:50, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

Vietnam Connections

I don't have the following book in front of me, but I seem to recall Neil Sheehan in A Bright Shining Lie saying U.S. aid to the French in their campaign against the Viet Minh began basically as soon as the French reoccupied the country in late 1945/early 1946, not "shortly after the start of the Korean War" as the article currently states. This issue is worth looking into especially since the doctrine of containment was often cited as a reason for later U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Krazychris81 (talk) 22:45, 3 July 2008 (UTC)

POV check

In a quick read through of the changes made by User:Naur today, it seems that the editor might have an agenda that would conflict with WP:NPOV for this article. This is not a criticism of the editor, but a concern for the neutrality of the article. I do not have the time or inclination to read through in detail to analyze it, but it is a concern. At the very least, the additions are not neutrally written and should be adjusted. Statements like "the support at all costs of right-wing, authoritarian governments" and "the American global domination" and "the support, under the guise of democracy and freedom, of right-wing, totalitarian governments in third-world countries" seem to be red flags to me. Primary support for the additions seems to come from Noam Chomsky - a less than neutral commentator on American politics. -- Mufka ^{(u) (t) (c)} 15:12, 13 December 2008 (UTC)

I am confident that most of my edits are well-written and adequately sourced. I do not have an "agenda" - I read books and I write what they tell. Since this article had almost no sources before I edited it, and since it has now over fifty sources, I would say it is a much more encyclopedic article than before. If the above user has read from respectable authors with opposing viewpoints, and would like to include them, discussion is always welcome. I am curious how the user came to view Noam Chomsky as a biased author, since he is highly respected among intellectuals and historians - for example, being the most-cited living person. But anyhow, this is irrelevant, since it is not our job to decide whether certain authors are neutral or not. Naur (talk) 15:36, 13 December 2008 (UTC)