Cold War Context

American hopes for cooperation with the Soviet Union in reaching a postwar settlement collapsed during the Moscow Conference of December 1945 with the Soviets’ refusal to withdraw from northern Iran. ¹ President Truman's concerns regarding the Middle East and his toughening stance toward the Soviet Union was clearly reflected in his famous memorandum to Secretary of State James F. Brynes. He warned that there was “no doubt that the Soviets intend to attack Turkey,” and he argued that if the Soviet Union was not “faced with an iron fist and strong language another war was in the making.” ²