Editing Truman Doctrine (section)

==Long-term policy and metaphor==
{{See also|Cold War|Foreign policy of the United States}}
Historian [[Eric Foner]] writes that the doctrine "set a precedent for American assistance to [[Anti-communism|anticommunist]] regimes throughout the world, no matter how undemocratic, and for the creation of a set of global military alliances directed against the Soviet Union."<ref>Eric Foner, ''Give Me Liberty! An American History'' (2nd ed., 2008) p. 892</ref>

The Truman Doctrine underpinned American Cold War policy in Europe and around the world. In the words of historian [[James T. Patterson (historian)|James T. Patterson]]:

<blockquote>The Truman Doctrine was a highly publicized commitment of a sort the administration had not previously undertaken. Its sweeping rhetoric, promising that the United States should aid all 'free people' being subjugated, set the stage for innumerable later ventures that led to globalisation commitments. It was in these ways a major step.<ref name=JTP>{{cite book |last=Patterson |first=James T. |date=1996 |title=Grand Expectations |url=https://archive.org/details/grandexpectation00patt |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-507680-6 }}</ref>{{rp|129}}</blockquote>

Historian Dennis Merill argues that the doctrine endured because it addressed broader cultural insecurity regarding modern life in a globalized world. It dealt with Washington's concern over communism's domino effect, it enabled a media-sensitive presentation of the doctrine that won [[bipartisanship|bipartisan]] support, and it mobilized American economic power to modernize and stabilize unstable regions without direct military intervention. It brought nation-building activities and modernization programs to the forefront of foreign policy.<ref name="MerrillTruDoct">{{Harvnb|Merrill|2006}}.</ref>

The Truman Doctrine became a metaphor for aid to keep a nation from communist influence. Truman used disease imagery not only to communicate a sense of impending disaster in the spread of communism but also to create a "rhetorical vision" of containing it by extending a protective shield around non-communist countries throughout the world. It echoed the "[[Quarantine Speech|quarantine the aggressor]]" policy Truman's predecessor, [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]], had sought to impose to contain [[Nazi Germany|German]] and [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]] expansion in 1937 ("quarantine" suggested the role of public health officials handling an infectious disease). The medical metaphor extended beyond the immediate aims of the Truman Doctrine in that the imagery, combined with fire and flood imagery evocative of disaster, provided the U.S. with an easy transition to direct military confrontation in later years with the [[Korean War]] and the [[Vietnam War]]. By framing ideological differences in life or death terms, Truman was able to garner support for this communism-containing policy.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ivie|1999}}.</ref>