Nation: The View from Red Square

Our containment is their encirclement

The Carter Administration's tough new policy toward the Soviet Union is the latest phase of a continuing U.S. effort to keep the Kremlin from getting its way in the world. But what are the exact objectives of Soviet foreign policy? TIME Diplomatic Correspondent Strobe Talbott and Moscow Bureau Chief Bruce Nelan collaborated on this analysis:

What the U.S. sees—and seeks—as "containment" of Soviet power, the Kremlin sees and fears as "encirclement" by its enemies. That fear has driven Soviet foreign policy since 1917. The Bolsheviks were then surrounded and even invaded by hostile capitalist countries. The word Kremlin...

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