ABSTRACT
Britain's role as a world leader in free trade, promoting a system of stable currencies and maintaining a strong military, helped provide a relatively peaceful international political climate lasting from 1815 to 1914. The United States needed a strong military to follow Britain as the world leader. George Kennan's assessment suggested the United States needed a strong military. He therefore argued for three central warfare concepts: a doctrine of limited warfare; atomic weapons to be used by the United States only in retaliation; and "small mobile forces" would be needed. The defense-expenditure strain on the Soviet economy was much more severe than that on the United States as both powers continued to expand their influence. By the 1960s the United States learned from their experience that for capital to be effective in the developing countries, technical and managerial competence must precede capital loans and aid.
