Liddell Hart, Kennan, and the End of the Cold War
Abstract
For all intents and purposes, the Cold War is over. Never before in history had two antagonistic systems attempted to subvert and subdue one another for so long--45 years--without engaging in direct combat. There is no doubt, however, which side prevailed. The "inherent contradictions" that Marx and Lenin saw in capitalism turned out to be misplaced. George Kennan was remarkably prescient in his famous 1947 "X" article when he wrote that "Soviet power, like that of the capitalist world of its conception, bears within it the seeds of its own decay .... " The communist system, built on presumably unshakable bedrock, turned out to be a house of cards.The question that will occupy strategists for years to come is, why did the house collapse? The poles of the debate have already been staked out by the triumphalists (we won the Cold War, primarily due to Reagan's policies! and the sore winners (we overreacted/the Russians never were coming/communism was a flawed system that basically imploded). Might there be a middle-ground explanation postulating a favorable strategic outcome for the West based on the measured application of a variety of actions short of war? Was Kennan's theory of containment--the West's clarion call to action against Stalin' USSR--that explanation? The answer: sort of. Was containment, either as formulated by Kennan or practiced by eight U.S. presidents, the natural offspring of Liddell Hart's theory of the indirect approach developed over 60 years ago? Again, the answer is, sort of. Let me explain.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 09, 1990
- Accession Number
- ADA437883
Entities
People
- James Murphy
Organizations
- National War College