ABSTRACT
US policy toward Europe during the cold war can be viewed as either a radical departure from isolationism or a continuation of initiatives taken in response to World War II. The Truman administration's acceptance of a peacetime alliance with the countries of Western Europe has often been described as a revolutionary departure from traditional US isolationism. But this view overlooks important changes in the outlook of US officials that preceeded by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty in 1949. The North Korean invasion of South Korea raised the subjective probability of war in Europe and resulted in an abrupt change in both the assumptions and the time perspective on which US policy was based. The Ronald Reagan administration took office convinced of the need for much stronger measures to redress what it saw as a very unfavorable military balance in Europe and inspired by the belief that a reassertion of US leadership would be welcomed by the European allies.
