His is a forgotten name from the years after World War II. But we could use him about now. Kennan was the man who came up with the policy of "containment" regarding the USSR. But he believed that the Truman administration went further than he prescribed. In fact he kinda decided he was wrong, though he also thought it should have been obvious that the USSR had no intention of attacking the USA.
He had a couple good years but was blackballed after Dean Acheson became Secretary of State.
Crucially, Kennan was no fan of military action in small countries fighting Civil Wars. You know North vs South Korea, North vs South Vietnam. He warned loudly against the US push to unify Korea. And later he warned against getting involved in Vietnam. His thought was that the USSR loved nothing more than to watch us bog down in frightful wars where we were not invited and where we could not win.
In both cases, his arguments were prescient.
Now imagine if he was still alive (he did make it to 101). What would he think of the Trump administration? How would he react to their decisions regarding China, North Korea, Iran?
Kennan was no hothead. He would be appalled by Trump. The careering from one idea to another. The attacking of allies and coddling of enemies. The lack of any real strategy for dealing with the world.
But here's the real thing I was thinking. Kennan, Acheson, John Foster Dulles, George Marshall, Paul Nitze, Dean Rusk, Walter Lippmann. These guys fought each other in tough political battles. But I think that they would come together today howling as one against the madness of Trump.
The squandering of America's power. The ping pong between threats and inaction. The macho posturing.
North Korea exploded a big nuclear device today. How did our president respond? By attacking South Korea in a tweet. Yes, it's possible that North Korea will launch a nuke. But I don't think he's the one who will strike first...
