Commentary: When it comes to Russia, containment still isn’t enough
The document that largely defined American foreign policy through the Cold War years was written anonymously by a prickly and melancholic Midwesterner who spent much of the rest of his life disavowing the repercussions of his work.
George F. Kennan, a State Department expert on Soviet Russia, published an article in the July 1947 issue of Foreign Affairs but signed it “X” because of his government role. The article famously called for the “containment” of Soviet expansion, urging the United States and
