Reflections on the cold war

While the First Red Scare, 1919-1920, may have crystallized the anticommunist views of America's elite, the seedtime of the Cold War can be clearly found in the political differences that emerged during World War II. The interplay found Washington's policies consistently emphasizing a return to post- Versailles status quo, while Moscow insisted that post-war realignment eliminate hostile forces ringing its borders and enhance the Soviet Union's security. The Truman administration's continued insistence on self-determination for Central and Eastern Europe ended the Grand Alliance and launched the full-blown Cold War. By the mid-1960s, the original political co,,!/rontations were superseded by the escalating nuclear arms race. For America's elite during this and the following decades, the general portrayal of the Soviet menace and Washington's willingness to meet that menace became, in and of itself, both the defining objective and organizing principle of American foreign policy. Throughout the formulation of Cold War policy that followed, the connection between ends and means remained undefined, with the cost in blood and treasure inestimable. Still, the experience of the Cold War may yet provide the next generation of politicians and policy makers with some valuable lessons on the limits of power.