As Russia continues its aggression against Ukraine, the United States has found itself in an awkward position. On one hand, there’s the call to protect democracy in Europe. And on the other, well, there’s Vladimir Putin, who no one really wants to provoke.
This is not a new dilemma. In 1947, President Harry Truman faced similar circumstances when Joseph Stalin wanted to spread the Soviet Union’s communist values after World War II. With Stalin encroaching on Greece and Turkey, the free world worried that if any European country became communist, others would follow.
Sound familiar?
Crafted in response to these threats, the Truman Doctrine shaped the United States as a fighter for world peace and eventually led to the fall of the Soviet Union. For a look back on the Truman presidency with Joe Scarborough, of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” go to our Instaread on Saving Freedom.
