Chapter 2: Ignoring Our Problems Summary and Analysis

Worse than not getting what you want can be actually getting what you want. The end of the Cold Ward is a vivid example. In 1946, George Kennan wrote a cable that became known as the "Long Telegram" as well as the most famous diplomatic communication in the history of the US. The cable warned that American needed to wake up. The world had changed! This communique established US policy on the Cold War—the containment of the USSR's military power and the vigorous support of global resistance to communism. It lead to the Marshall Plan; NATO; a permanent presence of US troops around the globe; America's involvement in the Koreas and Viet Nam civil wars; the nuclear arms race; and, the political and military rivalry of the US and the USSR. America was shocked...