Question at position 2 “It is clear that the main element of any United States policy towards the Soviet Union must be that of a long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies. . . . It is clear that the United States cannot expect in the foreseeable future to enjoy political intimacy with the Soviet regime. It must continue to regard the Soviet Union as a rival, not a partner, in the political arena. It must continue to expect that Soviet policies will reflect no abstract love of peace and stability, no real faith in the possibility of a permanent happy coexistence of the Socialist and capitalist worlds, but rather a cautious, persistent pressure towards the disruption and weakening of all rival influence and rival power.” Mr. X (George F. Kennan), State Department professional,“The Sources of Soviet Conduct,” Foreign Affairs, July 1947 Implementing the policies based on this excerpt led the United States to change from earlier foreign policy traditions by“It is clear that the main element of any United States policy towards the Soviet Union must be that of a long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies. . . . It is clear that the United States cannot expect in the foreseeable future to enjoy political intimacy with the Soviet regime. It must continue to regard the Soviet Union as a rival, not a partner, in the political arena. It must continue to expect that Soviet policies will reflect no abstract love of peace and stability, no real faith in the possibility of a permanent happy coexistence of the Socialist and capitalist worlds, but rather a cautious, persistent pressure towards the disruption and weakening of all rival influence and rival power.” Mr. X (George F. Kennan), State Department professional,“The Sources of Soviet Conduct,” Foreign Affairs, July 1947 Implementing the policies based on this excerpt led the United States to change from earlier foreign policy traditions bycreating more peacetime military alliances with other countrieshelping more European powers expand their influence in CentralAmericarejecting more participation in international organizationsisolating itself from more economic involvement with the world

Question

Question at position 2 “It is clear that the main element of any United States policy towards the Soviet Union must be that of a long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies. . . . It is clear that the United States cannot expect in the foreseeable future to enjoy political intimacy with the Soviet regime. It must continue to regard the Soviet Union as a rival, not a partner, in the political arena. It must continue to expect that Soviet policies will reflect no abstract love of peace and stability, no real faith in the possibility of a permanent happy coexistence of the Socialist and capitalist worlds, but rather a cautious, persistent pressure towards the disruption and weakening of all rival influence and rival power.” Mr. X (George F. Kennan), State Department professional,“The Sources of Soviet Conduct,” Foreign Affairs, July 1947 Implementing the policies based on this excerpt led the United States to change from earlier foreign policy traditions by“It is clear that the main element of any United States policy towards the Soviet Union must be that of a long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Russian expansive tendencies. . . . It is clear that the United States cannot expect in the foreseeable future to enjoy political intimacy with the Soviet regime. It must continue to regard the Soviet Union as a rival, not a partner, in the political arena. It must continue to expect that Soviet policies will reflect no abstract love of peace and stability, no real faith in the possibility of a permanent happy coexistence of the Socialist and capitalist worlds, but rather a cautious, persistent pressure towards the disruption and weakening of all rival influence and rival power.” Mr. X (George F. Kennan), State Department professional,“The Sources of Soviet Conduct,” Foreign Affairs, July 1947 Implementing the policies based on this excerpt led the United States to change from earlier foreign policy traditions bycreating more peacetime military alliances with other countrieshelping more European powers expand their influence in CentralAmericarejecting more participation in international organizationsisolating itself from more economic involvement with the world

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Question restatement: The excerpt from Mr. X (George F. Kennan) in The Sources of Soviet Conduct (Foreign Affairs, July 1947) discusses long-term, patient but firm containment of Soviet expansion and viewing the USSR as a rival rather than a partner. The prompt asks which outcome of implementing these policies best matches U.S. policy shifts away from earlier traditions.

Option A: creating more peacetime military alliances with other countries
- This option aligns with the shift toward collective security and formal alliance-building seen in the early Cold War, such as NATO and other defense pacts. It reflects a strategy of strengthening Western coordination and deterrence through formal alliances, which is a hallmark of containment-adjacent policy evolution.

Option B: helping more European powers expand their influence in Central America
- This choice misreads the geographic and strategic focus. U.S. policy in the early Cold War aimed to deter Soviet influence and prevent the spread of communism, not to promote another region's expansion at the expense of stability in the Americas. Central America expansion would not be a logical outcome of a containment framework intended to curb Soviet power.

Option C: rejecting more participation in international organizations
- Containment did not entail retreat from international institutions. In fact, institutional engagement, collective security arrangements, and participation in alliances were tools to manage and check Soviet influence. Rejecting participation would run counter to the broader diplomatic posture of mobilizing multilateral strategies.

Option D: isolating itself from more economic involvement with the world
- The containment strategy did not advocate economic withdrawal or isolationism. Economic engagement and reconstruction through frameworks like the Marshall Plan and other multilateral economic ties were used to strengthen Western economies and create a bulwark against communism, not to isolate the United States.

Putting these analyses together, the option that most accurately reflects the policy shift described by Kennan’s containment approach is the one about expanding formal alliances and collective security arrangements, which corresponds to Option A. This interpretation is consistent with how containment translated into increased military and strategic cooperation among Western nations during the early Cold War.

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