The Price of Containment
The influence of outside countries manipulating Greece during its Civil War beginning in 1943, for their own gains, contributed powerfully to the successful conflict against communist forces within and outside of Greece. This war would transpire with the aid of foreign states to show the world the weaknesses in the supposed victorious and all- powerful ideology, and that these communist forces could be defeated under the right circumstances. The Greek Civil War violently escalated to a lengthy proxy war that included involvement of a widespread of European countries as well as the U.S. It became one of the only successful conflicts during the Cold War to rise against the spread of communism and never be controlled by …show more content…
Before interference from outside forces, members of the KKE hundreds and thousands of suspected Greek communists and “left- wing sympathizers” were prosecuted or arrested. For the communist forces, the only way to resist this control of government from occurring permanently was to dominate in a way that would show the other side their true power. “Civil war was now a necessity in order for ELAS to destroy all other resistance organizations and rival guerilla bands.” While the guerrilla forces that were pro communism in Greece were supported by the USSR and the rest of the communist ruled Balkan states, those opposed garnered the support of first Britain, and finally the U.S. Eventually support from British forces ran out. With the British decision to pull out of practically all interference in the Greek government, and influence on the state it had been providing for over 150 years, the United States was ready to step in as a military police force against communism. One source on the origins of the Greek Civil War stated that, “From the time of liberation, the British government intended to withdraw its support and its troops as soon as it had established a self- sufficient government. From 1945 it began to warn the Greek government of an imminent termination of financial …show more content…
Through the Doctrine, the United States offered $300 million in aid to Greece to combat communism, and $100 million to Turkey. Along with financial aid, instead of Greece solely having British forces under the British Military Mission scattered throughout the state, whose mission was the training and organization of Greek forces to fight for their land, the United States wished to form a joint Greek- U.S. Army staff who were responsible for planning, equipping, and supplying all operations that were undertaken. The Doctrine affected not only Greece, but “played a major role in shaping events in Greece, making it a focal point of world politics and cold- war confrontations.” The main objective of the doctrine was containment providing economic and financial aid to countries who needed support for “free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures,” as Truman stated to Congress to get the doctrine approved. The Soviets noticed too that Greece was the only Balkan state not under full communist control and wished to change this at the same time President Truman was allocating aid to by his words, “resist aggressive communism around the world” Before involvement by the U.S. the USSR outwardly protested Britain’s influence in Greek affairs, and were even more opposed to this aid by the U.S. Besides the underground protests and alliances
The influence of outside countries manipulating Greece during its Civil War beginning in 1943, for their own gains, contributed powerfully to the successful conflict against communist forces within and outside of Greece. This war would transpire with the aid of foreign states to show the world the weaknesses in the supposed victorious and all- powerful ideology, and that these communist forces could be defeated under the right circumstances. The Greek Civil War violently escalated to a lengthy proxy war that included involvement of a widespread of European countries as well as the U.S. It became one of the only successful conflicts during the Cold War to rise against the spread of communism and never be controlled by …show more content…
Before interference from outside forces, members of the KKE hundreds and thousands of suspected Greek communists and “left- wing sympathizers” were prosecuted or arrested. For the communist forces, the only way to resist this control of government from occurring permanently was to dominate in a way that would show the other side their true power. “Civil war was now a necessity in order for ELAS to destroy all other resistance organizations and rival guerilla bands.” While the guerrilla forces that were pro communism in Greece were supported by the USSR and the rest of the communist ruled Balkan states, those opposed garnered the support of first Britain, and finally the U.S. Eventually support from British forces ran out. With the British decision to pull out of practically all interference in the Greek government, and influence on the state it had been providing for over 150 years, the United States was ready to step in as a military police force against communism. One source on the origins of the Greek Civil War stated that, “From the time of liberation, the British government intended to withdraw its support and its troops as soon as it had established a self- sufficient government. From 1945 it began to warn the Greek government of an imminent termination of financial …show more content…
Through the Doctrine, the United States offered $300 million in aid to Greece to combat communism, and $100 million to Turkey. Along with financial aid, instead of Greece solely having British forces under the British Military Mission scattered throughout the state, whose mission was the training and organization of Greek forces to fight for their land, the United States wished to form a joint Greek- U.S. Army staff who were responsible for planning, equipping, and supplying all operations that were undertaken. The Doctrine affected not only Greece, but “played a major role in shaping events in Greece, making it a focal point of world politics and cold- war confrontations.” The main objective of the doctrine was containment providing economic and financial aid to countries who needed support for “free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures,” as Truman stated to Congress to get the doctrine approved. The Soviets noticed too that Greece was the only Balkan state not under full communist control and wished to change this at the same time President Truman was allocating aid to by his words, “resist aggressive communism around the world” Before involvement by the U.S. the USSR outwardly protested Britain’s influence in Greek affairs, and were even more opposed to this aid by the U.S. Besides the underground protests and alliances