What is the policy of containment? Why did the United States adopt this policy after World War II? How did this policy justify American involvement in the Korean and Vietnam wars? How did it lead to a zero-sum game in international politics?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

An ideal response will:
1, Define the policy of containment as the strategy of guarding against Soviet power by limiting geographic expansion of that power.
2, Discuss how the United States adopted this policy after World War II because Hitler's near takeover of Europe convinced American leaders that the United States could not afford to let a hostile power take over the Eurasian continent, and therefore the power of the Soviets and their allies needed to be contained.
3, Detail how American involvement in the Korean and Vietnam wars was a response to the perception that Soviet power and ideology were spreading across the globe and it was necessary to U.S. interests to become involved in containing it.
4, Note how this policy led to American leaders viewing every situation as being in either American or Soviet interests, thereby making international politics a zero-sum game—a contest in which the gains achieved by one side necessarily involved equivalent losses by the other.