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Containment The Ghostbusters had Containment Units that strapped onto their backs like backpacks. When they found a bad ghost, they zapped him into a Containment Unit. There the ghost was "contained," and he couldn't bother anyone on the outside. This was their method of keeping the bad guys under control. After World War II, the countries of Europe were damaged and hurting. Their economies were crippled and they were desperate for help. The United States was worried that if these countries received help from a communist country, they might decide to switch to communism. The U.S. had to act fast. Secretary of State, George C. Marshall, developed a detailed plan that would give help to any European country that wanted it. The Marshall Plan offered aid in the form of money, food, machinery, medicine, farm animals, and other materials. Beginning in 1948, seventeen European countries took advantage of the Marshall Plan. These were all independent countries in Western Europe. They included countries such as Iceland, West Germany, Austria, Greece, and Turkey. The countries of Eastern Europe that were communist said, "No, thanks." Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union said that the Marshall Plan was a plot created by the United States in order to control Europe. The Soviet Union developed its own economic assistance program for the Communist countries. The Marshall Plan was successful in creating positive opinions of democracy in some countries, but it wasn’t perfect. Some countries accepted U.S. aid, but still turned to communism, either by choice or by force. President Harry S. Truman promised U.S. assistance to any country that wanted to stay democratic, or at least fight off communist invaders. This offer of help to resist communism was known as the Truman Doctrine, and led to U.S. involvement in multiple conflicts, such as the Korean War and the Vietnam War. President Truman’s offer of military aid inspired other countries to lend their support. In April of 1949, ten Western European countries, along with Canada and the United States, formed an alliance known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). NATO members agreed that an attack on one NATO member would be considered an attack on all members. They agreed to come to each other's defense, met to share information if there was a security risk, and also planned defense strategies together. The United States was the most powerful member of NATO. Its growing pile of nuclear weapons gave the U.S. a lot of strength. In 1955, the Soviet Union and its Eastern European allies formed their own alliance, known as the Warsaw Pact. Warsaw Pact members were all communist countries. When the Cold War ended, some people thought that NATO was no longer necessary and should be disbanded, or broken up. Others felt that NATO still could serve an important purpose. They eventually decided that NATO should continue, but they did make some changes. NATO's new focus changed from containing communism to a more positive approach. NATO now takes actions to support democracy, individual freedoms, the rule of law, and peaceful resolution of conflicts. NATO also invited more countries to join. The Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland had all previously been communist countries, but in 1999, they joined NATO. Other countries, such as Russia, were not invited to become members, but NATO formed useful agreements with them. These agreements were called Partnerships for Peace. After the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center in New York, NATO declared that the attack on the U.S. had been an attack on all NATO members. It took steps to help protect the security of the United States and began searching for signs of future attacks against NATO countries. In 2002, NATO members held a high-level meeting to make changes in order to modernize NATO. It invited even more countries to join. It planned new strategies to face the challenges of terrorism. It planned defenses against the growing threat of new weapons such as nuclear weapons, biological weapons, and chemical weapons. In addition to NATO’s work for peace, its main focus is on combating terrorism. NATO now has a long history of working for peace. It has been called the "Transatlantic Link" because it is a way for countries on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean to work together for their common goals. 1. Why did the U.S. want to contain the spread of communism? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 2. Why did countries in Eastern Europe turn down help from the Marshall Plan? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 3. What is NATO and what was it meant to do when it was created? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 4. Since the fall of Communism, how have NATO’s goals changed? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 5. The Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine were both strategies meant to help people, while also containing the spread of communism. Describe how they are alike and different. ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________