Directly after World War II the US effectively "shut the door" on all communist nations. A red scare descended on the US as the iron curtain enclosed around Eastern Europe. Mistrust and misunderstanding led to decades of arms races and close calls with a people that helped us to defeat Hitler and Japan. Meanwhile, the "open door" in China was slammed in our faces by our own ignorance and suspicion.
Though the confrontationist policy of the US may have been an effective tool to use in wartime while dealing with a dictator, it was not correct to use in peacetime. By misconstruing Stalin's actions after World War II the US lost any chance of amiable relations. The US first misunderstood Stalin's annexation of the Baltic republics. Moreover, a desire to have a buffer zone between the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe was mistaken by the West as aggressive Communist imperialism along the lines of Hitler's pre-war expansion. Granted, Stalin did harbor desires to spread his ideology, as......
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