Walter Lippmann and the American Century — 35 War Scare

1. 1. The Prague coup in February 1948 ended the last democratic government in Eastern Europe and shocked the West into fearing imminent World War III.
2. 2. Walter Lippmann initially accepted the administration's view that the Prague coup was a strategic preparation for war, and he called for immediate U.S. mobilization.
3. 3. Lippmann drafted a letter to Admiral Forrest Sherman arguing the U.S. should concentrate on a few critical areas rather than global containment, and that even war was preferable to indefinite entanglement.
4. 4. After cooling off, Lippmann acknowledged the Soviets might have acted defensively in response to the Marshall Plan and the push for an independent West Germany.
5. 5. In Washington, Lippmann found near hysteria, with Pentagon chief James Forrestal suggesting preventive war and Air Force Secretary Stuart Symington proposing atomic bombing of Soviet cities.
6. 6. George Kennan and others believed the Prague coup was a defensive reaction to the Marshall Plan and Western plans for West Germany, not preparation for aggression.
7. 7. Lippmann's panic passed within weeks; he concluded the Soviets were not looking for a fight and admitted he had overreacted.
8. 8. The Berlin blockade began after the West introduced a new currency in their zones, ending Soviet hopes for German reparations and control of the Ruhr.
9. 9. Lippmann considered Truman unfit for the presidency, suggesting he should resign in 1946 and later criticizing his decision to use the atomic bomb.
10. 10. Lippmann worked behind the scenes for Republican candidate Thomas Dewey in the 1948 election, drafting a foreign-policy speech and offering advice.
11. 11. Lippmann opposed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), arguing it was unnecessary and would lead to a rearmed West Germany and endless entanglements.
12. 12. Lippmann favored a neutralized, unified Germany and opposed the administration's plan to integrate West Germany into an Atlantic military community.