One of the most influential pieces in shaping American foreign policy post-WWII, George Kennan’s “Long Telegram” outlined how he viewed the Soviet Union would act after the war. A diplomat in Moscow at the time, Kennan believed that the Soviet Union was highly paranoid, and would act to spread its Marxist ideology throughout the world, while simultaneously acting to counter capitalist efforts. In this excerpt, Kennan believed that the Kremlin sought the “total destruction of the rival power (the United States)” and was unwilling to negotiate. Such thinking shaped the United State’s “containment strategy,” which aimed to combat communism around the globe, to halt the spread of communism.
