Truman Administration's Policy On Greece

The United States and Soviet Union, due to the sharp confrontation of the ideology, social system and the national interests, the alliance relationship broke down after World War II. The two sides gradually embarked on the road for the Cold War. The Balkans because of its prominent strategic position became the Cold War's starting place. Britain, on account of the decrease of strength, had to exit from Greece, while the United States committed the corresponding obligations. Greece as the Western civilization's origin in the Near East returned to the people's vision and became the first battlefield of the Cold War rivalry. This paper attempts to begin with the Greek civil war and the United States' containment strategy to Soviet communism "expansion". The policy of the United States to Greece on the political, economic, military aspects during the Truman administration will be discussed in detail combining with the original archival material of National Security Council, the CIA and etc. which will help us to understand the characteristics, essential, consequences and impact of the policy and have a restricted view on the Cold War.The paper is divided into four sections:The first part "setting foot in Greece" will focus on the former two phases of the Greece civil war and Britain's assistance and intervention in Greece before and after the end of World War II. During this period, the United States began initial intervene to Greece through assistance, while Soviet Union took the protection of Eastern Europe as the first task. Different from those two countries, Britain which played a decisive role during this period in the history of Greece not only provided assistance, but also firmly controlled the Greece's internal affairs and affected the development of the civil war.The second part "saving Greece" is the focus of this paper. Britain has selected the United States as her "successor" to assume the obligations of Greece in 1947. Truman administration took advantage of this wonderful opportunity to announce the "Truman Doctrine", which made the confrontation between the East and West openly and marked the outset of Cold War. The goal of the U.S. government was to help the Greek to reconstruct the economy and avoid them falling into the orbit of Soviet Union. Therefore U.S. economy mission and military mission in Greece, through economic and military assistance, constantly involved in all aspects of Greece's internal affairs and strengthened its control and interference. This part makes use of U.S. National Security Council's reports, CIA's reports and U.S. foreign relations archives to reveals the United States' interference and control of Greece on the political, economic and military aspects.The third part is "rejuvenation of Greece." Because of the United States' full support, the Greek government won the civil war, which created good conditions for the reconstruction of the Greek economy. However, in view of the East and West's confrontation became fiercer, the Truman administration changed the policy of reducing aid to Greece into the policy of strengthening its global strategy in an important position and urged Greece to participate NATO.Part IV is the conclusion which sums up the characteristics of U.S. policy to Greece: the United States' policy to Greece has experienced a change from the economic aid to the military assistance; the United States also focuses on building positive defense line in the world to confront the threat of communism. From the process of the containment of communism and Greek integration into the Western camp, it is safe to say that the United States successfully achieved its objectives. The diplomatic model which gives the assistance and intervenes in the internal affairs of other countries provides a successful example for the United States' Cold War policy.