Insights into the American role in the Cold War

President Truman's Diary Entries

Please read these texts before you submit your reply. Context: Historians estimate that nearly 50 million people died in WWII, and that massive loss of life heavily influenced the Cold War. These two documents that follow provide insights into the American role in the Cold War. 1st article: Entries from President Truman's Diary “July 25, 1945 “We met at 11:00 a.m. today. That is, Stalin, Churchill and the U.S. president. But I had a most important session with Lord Mountbatten and General Marshall before that. We have discovered the most terrible bomb in the history of the world. It may be the fire destruction prophesied in the Euphrates Valley era, after Noah and his fabulous ark. Anyway, we think we have found the way to cause a disintegration of the atom. An experiment in the New Mexico desert was startling—to put it mildly. Thirteen pounds of the explosive caused a crater six hundred feet deep and twelve hundred feet in diameter, knocked over a steel tower a half mile away, and knocked men down ten thousand yards away. The explosion was visible for more than two hundred miles and audible for forty miles and more. “This weapon is to be used against Japan between now and August 10. I have told the secretary of war, Mr. Stimson, to use it so that military objectives and soldiers and sailors are the target and not women and children. Even if Japs are savages, ruthless, merciless and fanatic, we as the leader of the world for the common welfare cannot drop this terrible bomb on the old capital or the new. He and I are in accord. The target will be a purely military one and we will issue a warning statement asking the Japs to surrender and save lives. I’m sure they will not do that, but we will have given them the chance. It is certainly a good thing for the world that Hitler’s crowd or Stalin’s did not discover this atomic bomb. It seems to be the most terrible thing ever discovered, but it can be made the most useful.” Source: Primary Resources: Entries from President Truman's Diary, PBS, American Experience 2nd article: CIA Overthrows Mossadeq CAMPAIGN TO INSTALL PRO-­?WESTERN GOVERNMENT IN IRAN TARGET: Prime Minister Mossadeq and his government OBJECTIVES: Through legal, or quasi-­?legal, methods to effect the fall of the Mossadeq government; and to replace it with a pro-­?Western government under the Sha’s leadership with Zahedi as its prime minister. CIA ACTION: Plan of action was implemented in four phases: [[REDACTED]] to strengthen the Sha’s will to exercise his constitutional power and to sign those decrees necessary to effect the legal removal of Mossadeq as Prime Minister; Welded together and coordinated the efforts of those political organizations in Iran who were sympathetic toward Mossadeq, including the powerfully influential clergy, to gain their support and backing of any legal action taken by the Shah to accomplish Mossadeq’s removal; [[REDACTED]] disenchant the Iranian population with the myth of Mossadeq’s patriotism, by exposing his collaboration with the Communists and his manipulation of constitutional authority to serve his own personal ambitions for power; [[REDACTED]] Simultaneously, conducted a “war of nerves” against Mossadeq designed to reveal to Mossadeq and to the general populace that increased economic aid would not be forthcoming and that the U.S. viewed with alarm Mossadeq’s policies: A series of public statements by high U.S. officials implying that there was little hope that Mossadeq could expect increased U.S. aid; U.S. press and magazine articles which were critical of him and his methods; and [[REDACTED]] absence of the American Ambassador, lending credence to the impression that the U.S. had lost confidence in Mossadeq and his government.