Containment in the Asia – Pacific
The doctrine of containment was fashioned primarily with the Soviet Union and Soviet communism in mind. Its origins were in Europe and indeed it was in Europe where its principles were best applied and where its ultimate purpose of bringing about the collapse of the communist system was eventually achieved. But since containment was expressed in moral and universal terms it evoked a Manichean view of a word divided between two opposing systems, which soon became the reality in Europe, where a very real ‘iron curtain’ sharply demarcated borders separating the two camps. It was an approach to understanding the world that came to be broadly accepted in the United States. Thus, despite the Vietnam debacle and the soul-searching to which it gave rise, American public opinion supported the long-term policy of opposition to the Soviet Union.