History
* The change in American policy towards the end of 1945 occurred at a time when few of thee pressing post-war problems had been resolved.
* The Americans were trying to contain communism.
* Charles Bohlen in February 1945 said if the US is not willing to "go the whole hog" the only alternative was to split Germany, partition Europe into two spheres and decide the "line beyond which we can-not afford to permit Russians to exercise unchallenged power or go take purely unilateral action".
* Freeman Matthews, head of the European devision of the State department sent the "Long Telegram"
"we have here a political force committed fanatically to the belief that with US there can be no permanent modus vivendi, that it is desirable and necessary that the internal harmony of our society be disrupted, our traditional way of live destroyed, the international authority of our state be broken if Soviet power is to be secure. [Yergin 1980: 169]