Moving into the 1970's, Post-revisionists blamed the Cold War on misperception rather than holding the U.S. or Soviet Union responsible. This opinion is not necessarily precise either, caused by its broadened aspects of blame. .
The containment policy was the foreign political strategy practiced by the United States following World War II. George F. Kennan, a diplomat and also a U.S. State Department adviser concerning Soviet Union matters, was the first to present this policy to the public. In the infamous "X" article Kennan described his ideas as a "long-term, patient but firm and vigilant containment of Soviet expansive tendencies." The first function of containment was in 1947 expressed in the Truman Doctrine. This promised urgent economic and military assistance to Turkey and Greece. It was said that any plans implemented regarding foreign policy post 1945 were to aid Strategies of Containment. .
Kennan's political concept could be broken down into three main goals: restoring balance to powers within Europe, the limiting of Soviet power extension, and transforming the Soviet notions of international affairs. A misconception of Kennan's goals was that he wanted the entire world to be made up of Soviet and American sides of control. The policy was put forth simply to aid and encourage the independence of nations in Europe and Asia that may have been threatened by Soviet and communist power. To guarantee the success of dividing powers throughout Europe, Kennan thought restraint was means to an end. In order for this initiative a long-term economic aid program was implemented. Nominal interference should be made within the regions and decisions would be left up to the nations who wanted to aid themselves. Initial U.S. aid and concern was placed on the vital and at risk industrialized areas of Japan and Western Europe. Not until later would the U.S. further its assistance to Greece and Turkey.
