Why "US"
- This section marks a transition from Truman establishing the facts on the ground in Greece and Turkey to outlining his aims in the air and the ideals/goals of his new foreign policy.
- According to Truman, U.S. foreign policy is about safeguarding ideals of freedom and democracy in both the U.S. and throughout the world (for more on this, see documents like The Constitution, The UN Charter, and Miley Cyrus' "Party in the U.S.A.").
- He reminds the audience that "freedom" and "democracy" (not the stuff spewed in the Miley Cyrus song) were also part of the "war with Germany and Japan."
- He then gives a shout-out to the UN and its mission to ensure world peace and the peaceful development of nations.
- However, he also says that peacekeeping organizations like the UN will tank if totalitarian regimes are left unchallenged, because that's what totalitarian regimes do—they destroy peace.
- Then, the little bit above finishes with yet another "ace in the hole" (sentence 65)—Truman insists that any threat to international peace is a threat to the security of the U.S..
- But wait—there's more.
- Things get even juicier after that: Truman claims that the poor, defenseless people of a number of countries have had "totalitarian regimes" forced upon them against their will.
- And this is a violation of Yalta. (Don't remember Yalta? Click here). By directly referencing Yalta, Truman indirectly calls out the Soviet Union, placing blame for the entire political mess he's describing.
- Now that the (Soviet) elephant in the room has been addressed, Truman launches into the Cold War and how his proposed policy will deal with it.
- He says that "at this particular moment" (re: Cold War), every nation must choose between two ways of life. The first way of life is ours—democracy, free speech, apple pie, etc.; while the second is totalitarian (a.k.a. communism aka the Soviet Union)—defined by terror, oppression, fixed elections, and other bad things.
- He then launches into three statements that make up what he believes the new foreign policy of the U.S. should be to fix the communist problem.
- These three statements (sentences 74-76) make up the core principles of the Truman Doctrine.
- After a bit of a natural pause to let the core "beliefs" sink in, Truman then turns to what the U.S. can expect after his policy is initiated.
- He reminds his audience that the world is forever changing (true that), but that the direction of this change can and must be controlled.
- They-who-must-not-be-named (*cough* the Soviet Union *cough*) are looking to push the world in a direction that violates the UN Charter (an agreement that the Soviets agreed to uphold back in 1945).
- Truman believes that by providing aid to struggling countries and helping them stay out of Soviet hands, we're upholding our commitment to the rest of the world as a global leader and member of the UN.
- Then things get really real.
- Truman explains how the potential loss of Greece to communist forces is part of a much larger situation.
- If Greece falls, Turkey will fall, and soon the entire Middle East will fall, you know, like the domino theory that makes up the bulk of Cold War policy and politics at this time.
- Even worse, losing Greece would be a really bad omen for other countries in Europe trying to rebuild after the war / avoid the communist threat.
- Soon, all of the dominoes around the world could fall. This would be an insult to what we and others were fighting for during WWII, and also bad for the U.S.
- Therefore, Truman says, we have to do something, and quick.
- He launches into a specific action plan for Greece and Turkey that involves providing $400,000,000 in aid and putting civilian and military personnel on the ground.
- He also asks that Congress get on this immediately and will not hesitate to use a presidential veto if they dilly-dally—that's a major dig at this 80th Republican Congress who rejects a lot of bills and proposals.