Containment Revisited: An Old Approach to Future Challenges
Abstract
The end of the Cold War marked the termination of what is to date America's longest struggle for national security. But as the Cold War and its inherent fears of nuclear exchanges and World War III subsided, a new era of complex and intense national security concerns began. World order has changed but America's basic approach for securing its national interests may not have. The precepts of George Kennan's original containment strategy could prove to be the winning combination in the years ahead. The global nature of the new world order provides a grand setting for a revisit to Kennan's thoughts, giving America an unprecedented opportunity to secure itself and her allies without the 'rapid and sustained build-up' of military might described in NSC 68. America's position as the world's lone superpower lends new credence to all of her instruments of national power, making classical containment the most viable option for a future national security strategy.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA404661
Entities
People
- Brian Lindamood
Organizations
- United States Army War College