The Kennedy Doctrine

The Kennedy Doctrine

The Doctrine of flexible response is usually heard when someone is referring to President John F. Kennedy's time in office. The intent of this doctrine was to offer a variety of options in dealing with a number of increasing threats during his time in office from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. This was a time in our country where we faced serious. threats of nuclear war. The age of nuclear uncertainty was upon the United States and knowing whether or not to flex our nuclear muscle was a decision President Kennedy needed to make. Faced with a complicated decision, Kennedy decided to take a more reasonable approach by creating the doctrine of flexible response. The intent of this doctrine, which was created with aid of foreign policy veteran Defense Secretary Robert S. McNamara, was meant to allow the president to combat Soviet advances around the world through a variety of means (SparkNotes Editors, 2005). These means included allowing our military branches to continue to do what they have always done, which was to fight strategically and only Using nuclear weapons as an absolute last resort. The reason why this doctrine is so significant to our history is because of the drastic change it made from the Eisenhower-Era of "massive retaliation" (Goldman, 1987). To have a well-versed idea as to why this doctrine was used to solve foreign policy requires further evaluation which will be presented through: summarizing U.S. diplomatic efforts during President Kennedy's time in office, explaining what actions and events prompted the use of the doctrine, the effects of these diplomatic efforts for the U.S. and other countries and closing with the advantages and disadvantages of the particular doctrine that was followed. These topics will unite how the Kennedy Administration utilized this doctrine in order to deal with the challenges they were facing during a time threatened by communism and nuclear war.

Summarize a Situation that Required U.S. Diplomatic Efforts during the President's Time in Office.

When Kennedy entered office in 1961 he knew that continuing the fight against communism needed immediate attention. Kennedy's application of the doctrine was first utilized during the Cuban Missile Crisis that happened in October of 1962. The Soviets, as it seemed, were excelling ahead of the United States in building long range weapons of mass destruction. In reality the Soviets possessed weapons of inaccuracy and they were aware of this fact. To capitalize on their short comings they needed to partner up with a country that was close enough to the United States so that their weapons would reach their intended target. Since Castro had already approached First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev to ask for protection from U.S. invasion, a partnership was born. With CIA personnel on the ground in Cuba, chatter alerted the president that something was about to happen. Through the use of U2 camera planes the United States was able to confirm that the Soviets were indeed building missile bases in Cuba. With minimal options available to the president he and his top advisors talked for days about how to defend against this threat. Kennedy chose a naval blockade known as "the quarantine" because it stopped short of shooting at Russian's and gave them a way out (Roskin & Berry, 2010). This was the most effective way scenario because it put immense pressure on the Soviet's while decreasing the risk of war. As a result of this action, "The missile crisis was a triumph, a triumph of flexible response," according to Arthur Schlesinger (1965).

Explicate the Democratic Doctrine Kennedy followed, with Reference to Specific Actions or Events that Occurred.

Another occurrence for the use of the doctrine of flexible response was another one of Kennedy's major challenges, The Berlin Crisis. At the end of World War II the future of Berlin in a temporarily divided East and West Germany hung in the balance. In 1961, Khrushchev had insisted that Berlin must be united under the control of East Germany (Brinkley, 2012) and because of this the temporary division it slowly became a separation lasting nearly 28 years. During this period the Soviets wanted NATO to withdraw its troops within six months from Berlin. The reason the Soviets wanted NATO troops out was they were aiding in helping refugees flee to West Germany. Khrushchev convinced the Kennedy administration including American ambassador to the Soviet Union, Llewellyn Thompson, that he was going to launch an attack to regain West Berlin, and the ultimately all of Germany. Under the doctrine of flexible response Kennedy was able to use our military strength. Since Kennedy did not want to alert the Soviets to his plan that he had mobilized troops and worry the American public he kept this quiet. Kennedy excelled readiness and training for as many as 200,000 plus. troops. As time went on and the Soviet Union became aware that the Berlin challenge would be met swiftly and firmly, it began to ease the pressure again (Matlof, 1990).

Describe the Effects of these Diplomatic Efforts for the U.S. and Other Countries

Diplomatic efforts of flexible response impacted the U.S. and other countries by allowing the opportunity for stronger alliances to be built with nations around the world. Instead of the act first ask questions later tactic that was brought in the Eisenhower administration, Kennedy took a step back and realized what was necessary to remain a powerful nation. By building up our military power and funding to build greater and more accurate weapons we increased our power and our strike capabilities on numerous fronts. Our allied nations looked towards the U.S. more because they knew the U.S. was coming to their aid, even in times of uncertainty. During Kennedy's short time in office he faced numerous. global challenges, some were successful and as history tells U.S. some were not. However, through flexible response, Kennedy focused on diplomatic renewal in areas of extreme poverty and government corruption. Kennedy provided aid to Latin America and proposed the "Alliance for Progress" to gain cooperation with Latin American governments. The focus on these areas was important because the communist spread threatened these unstable areas. Khrushchev was a sore spot for Kennedy because the Soviet Union kept testing what actions the allied nations were going to take to stop him. Khrushchev was convinced that at some point he would be able to take out America by exposing its weaknesses. The doctrine of flexible response kept shutting down the Soviets advances because they were not able to bully allies by trying to force them to give