The American presidents are famed for having made decisions which affected the course of history at their time. Perhaps the main reason as to why they are remembered that much is because the decisions they made had a far reaching effect, both in the U.S and in other nations. Below is an illustration of such a case that happened during one of the presidents’ time.
The Cold War and U.S Diplomacy
President J.F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, took power at such a time when the tensions were quite high. His predecessors, especially Eisenhower, were worried about the fact that the Soviet Union could advance its interests to other nations (Doctrine, 2012). As such, they argued that there was the need to support the non-Communist nations so that they could not fall under the Soviet Union. Kennedy was quite hard on this issue. He supported the objectives of his predecessors, but argued that rather than support these nations, what the U.S should have done was to oppose the formation of any Latin American Communist (Massachusetts University, 2012). In his inaugural speech, Kennedy made this declaration very clear. For many, it appeared as if he was speaking of Cuba since it was one nation that the Soviet Union was concerned with.
The height of the cold war and the point at which Kennedy’s flexibility doctrine came out was when the Soviet Union planted missiles in Cuba which could very easily used against the U.S. (Bowen, 2001). At this time, the president realized that the cold war had come calling at the American doorstep and there was no turning back. However, he still stuck to his doctrine that the spread of communism should not be allowed. Therefore, the U.S went back to its nuclear testing after the president ratified the move. Forces were also deployed to the Cuban nation to support it fight against the Russian invasion. The move seemed to spark a series of guerillas in the Latin American nations including the Vietnam, where the actual war was fought for quite a long time.
The Kennedy’s doctrine had a lasting impression on the diplomatic ties between the U.S and other nations. First of all, it broke the diplomatic ties between the U.S and the U.S.S.R. However, this did not last for long since the latter collapsed after the failure of communism. The relationship with Cuba was, however, improved. Due to the collaboration between the U.S forces and the Cuban military, U.S.S.R. was pushed out of Cuba. The collaboration led to the establishment of a U.S naval base in Guantanamo Bay which is still in operation to date (Bowen, 2001). This indicates that the ties between the two were improved. On the negative side, the doctrine also broke the ties between the U.S and other communist states. It also led to a loathing of the U.S in areas where human and property losses were incurred as a result of the cold war such as Vietnam.
There were advantages and disadvantages that could be associated with the doctrine adopted during the cold war. In the positive light, it reduces the expenses for the U.S government. Rather than spend dollars supporting the other non-communist nations to resist communism, the U.S just facilitated the nations to use what they had to resist the spread of communism. As such, it did not violate the sovereignty of these nations and also did not spend so much on the war. Another good thing is that the nations that were assisted became long term associates of the U.S in economic as well as military sense. A good example of this is Cuba.
There were also some negative impacts of the doctrine. For instance, in support of the guerillas, there were some outcomes that were not expected. Such an incident was the assassination of the South Vietnamese president, Ngo. In as much as the U.S president and the Americans could wash their hands of his blood, it can be said that they had a hand in it since they supported the guerillas. There were also loss of lives and destruction of property. For instance, during the Vietnamese war, a lot of American soldiers were killed. A lot of money was spent and much property was destroyed. These are some of the issues that could have been avoided only if a different method was adopted to deal with the issue.
In conclusion, this essay has looked at President John F. Kennedy and his doctrine of responding flexibly to the communist expansion. In so doing, the essay has looked at the cold war and how it came about. This meant that there was the need to look at how the war affected the American diplomatic efforts. Through literature review, the essay has looked at the manner in which Kennedy handled the issue and the outcomes of the same. Lastly, it has looked at the advantages and the disadvantages of the doctrine adopted by the president. In a nutshell, it can be said that the approach was quite radical as compared to his predecessors. However, he still managed to accomplish what he was set to do, which carved him a niche in history.
Bowen, G.L. (2001). U.S Foreign Policy Toward Cuba: The Cold War Comes to the Americas. Retrieved on 27th July 2012 from http://www.mbc.edu/faculty/gbowen/cuba.htm
Doctrine. (2012). United States Presidential Doctrines. Retrieved on 27th July 2012 from http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=4&ved=0CFoQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmyclass.peelschools.org%2Fsec%2F12%2F10885%2FResources%2FDetente%2FDoctrines.2.doc&ei=vLkSUOSVBNK2hAfRzoFY&usg=AFQjCNFfOf4l2NjT8WKMMvMz36X3TMY1pQ&sig2=hodIuTlrqG2XhFLCgnmilQ
Massachusetts University. (2012). Kennedy and the Cold War. Retrieved on 28th July 2012 from http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/progjfk5.htm
White, M.J. (1962). Kennedy: The New Frontier Revisited. Retrieved on 28tyh July 2012 from http://faculty.virginia.edu/sixties/readings/logevall_vietnam.pdf
