The USA was to blame for the outbreak of the Cold

War. How far do you agree?

There is some debate as to who carries the greater responsibility for
the outbreak of the Cold War. Some suggest that the USA was to blame; others point
at Stalin and soviet expansion. The argument here is that both sides misunderstood each
other, leading to a climate of mistrust which started the Cold War.
It could be argued that the USA was to blame for the outbreak of the Cold War.
The USA was staunchly anti-communist, and had been since the Russian Revolution in
1917. It was because of this that the USA did not share its knowledge of the Atomic
Bomb with the USSR in 1945. The USA were acting aggressively towards the USSR with
the Truman Doctrine, which followed the policy of containment. For this the USA said it
was act to stop any further communist expansion, clearly threatening any further
movement by Stalin and the Soviet Union. The Marshall Plan, which gave $17 billion to
European countries for reconstruction, could also be seen as aggressive, trying to buy
the loyalty of Europeans against the Soviet Union. This was made worse by the creation
of NATO in 1950, an alliance designed to challenge the USSR. There is clearly some
evidence to suggest that the USAs actions led to the Cold War.
There is, however, considerable evidence that the USSR holds responsibility for
the start of the Cold War. Stalin had taken control of eastern Europe after the end of the
Second World War in 1945, and the Soviet Union had physical control over countries such
as Poland, East Germany and Czechoslovakia due to their occupation by Red Army
troops. Although Stalin had agreed at the Yalta conference that there would be free
elections in eastern Europe, this proved not to be the case, and elections were rigged to
ensure that communists were elected. Perhaps the greatest sign of Soviet aggression
was the Berlin Blockade, where Stalin cut off the transport links to west Berlin. It was only
through the 1947-1948 Berlin Airlift that the problem was overcome without threatening
another world war. For these reasons, it could be argued that it was Soviet aggression
which led to the start of the Cold War.
Arguably, it was neither solely the USA nor the USSR who held responsibility for
the outbreak of the Cold War. Instead, it was a series of misunderstandings between
them. At Yalta and Potsdam there was an atmosphere of mistrust, and this led to later
problems. The Soviet Union assumed that American aid to western Europe was an
attempt at direct control. Similarly, the USA believed that Stalin was interested in taking
control of western Europe, where he had expressed a wish only to create a buffer zone
against invasion. It was, therefore, a sequence of misunderstandings which led to the
outbreak of the Cold War.
It is certainly true that the USA did a number of things which could be seen as
aggressive toward the USSR, not least the Truman Doctrine. However, the USSR was also
responsible for creating a climate of mistrust. In the end, it was misunderstandings
between the two sides which led to the beginning of the Cold War. The statement is true,
therefore, in part, but is only one part of the story.