ABSTRACT
During World War II Vice President Truman was kept out of the geostrategic loop by President Roosevelt so it was no surprise that the Truman administration took a while to define its foreign policy towards Europe. Some advisers favoured a friendship policy with the Soviets while other adopted a ‘Cold War’ approach distrustful of Stalin’s intentions. Truman was also being petitioned by British Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin, who was increasingly critical of Soviet bullying in Central Europe and Greece. By 1947 Truman had proclaimed his ‘Doctrine’ effectively siding with those who took a pronounced anti-Soviet position. Stalin was prepared to be adventurous and provocative but he did not want another war. When the Western powers took a tough line, as with the 1948 Berlin airlift, he backed down. In short, Stalin prepared for the Cold War but not for a third world war. His policy thus mixed caution with opportunism as the two superpowers squared off in the nuclear stalemate.
