During the Cold War, the United States confronted an expansionist state motivated by an aggressive, illiberal, ideology. Revisionists notwithstanding, the Soviet Union saw itself as the cockpit of a communist revolutionary idea that called into question the legitimacy of all non-communist states. US foreign policy during the Cold War sought to contain Soviet communism and provide time for the internal contradictions of that system to manifest themselves. The founders of Containment understood the importance of American principles and leveraged them against the USSR by means of the virtue of prudence. The end of the Cold War, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the triumph of liberal capitalism vindicated Containment and its balance between principle and prudence.

Mackubin T. Owens is Professor of Strategy and Force Planning at the US Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. He is co-editor of the textbook, Strategy and Force Planning, now in its third edition. His articles on national security issues have appeared in such publications as International Security, Orbis, Armed Forces Journal, Joint Force Quarterly, The Public Interest, The Weekly Standard, Comparative Strategy, National Review, The New York Times, The Washington Times, and The Wall Street Journal. Before joining the faculty of the War College, Dr. Owens served as National Security Adviser to Senator Bob Kasten, Republican of Wisconsin, and Director of Legislative Affairs for the Nuclear Weapons Programs of the Department of Energy.

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