George F. Kennan: An American Life (132 page)

20
For the first interpretation, see Miscamble,
Kennan and the Making of American Foreign Policy,
pp. 316–17 ; Mayers,
Kennan and the Dilemmas of U.S. Foreign Policy,
pp. 261–66; Beisner,
Dean Acheson
, p. 571; Stephanson,
Kennan and the Art of Foreign Policy,
pp. 162–65; and Trask, “George F. Kennan’s Report on Latin America.” For the second, see Hixson,
George F. Kennan
, pp. 70–71; LaFeber,
Inevitable Revolutions
, pp. 107–8; and Smith,
Last Years of the Monroe Doctrine
, pp. 65–73.

21
I owe this phrase to the physicist Murray Gell-Mann.

22
GFK speech, “Current Problems in the Conduct of Foreign Policy,” Milwaukee, May 5, 1950, GFK Papers, 251:13. Most of the speech was published in the
Department of State Bulletin
22 (May 15, 1950), 747–61.

23
See, for example, GFK’s off-the-record address to the Pentagon Joint Civilian Orientation Conference, April 17, 1950, pp. 12–14, GFK Papers, 299:39. Acheson’s National Press Club speech of January 12, 1950, “Crisis in Asia—an Examination of U.S. Policy,” is in
Department of State Bulletin
22 (January 23, 1950), 111–18. It followed NSC 48/2, “The Position of the United States with Respect to Asia,” approved by Truman on December 30, 1949, in
FRUS: 1949
, VII, 1215–20, which in turn grew out of the PPS/39 series, dating from September 1948.

24
Beisner,
Dean Acheson
, pp. 281–306, provides a vivid account of these events. For McCarthy’s speech, see Oshinsky,
Conspiracy So Immense
, pp. 108–12.

25
Davies interview, December 8, 1982, pp. 12–13. See also GFK,
Memoirs,
II, 196–97, 200–203; Corke,
U.S. Covert Operations and Cold War Strategy
, pp. 78–80; and Kahn,
China Hands
, pp. 244–46.

26
GFK to Webb, March 30, 1950, in
FRUS: The Intelligence Community, 1950–1955
, pp. 5–8.

27
The lecture, delivered on May 5, 1950, is in GFK Papers, Box 2, “May 5, 1950” folder, along with the handbill. For GFK’s complaint, see the Summary of Daily Meeting with the Acting Secretary, May 8, 1950, Department of State, Summaries of the Secretary’s Daily Meetings, 1949–52, E 393, Box 1 (courtesy of Thomas Schöttli).

28
ASK to GFK, February 23, 1950, JEK Papers.

29
PPS minutes, October 11, 1949, PPS Records, Box 32. For GFK’s earlier thinking on conventional deterrence, see PPS/33, “Factors Affecting the Nature of the U.S. Defense Arrangements in the Light of Soviet Policies,” June 23, 1948, in
PPS Papers,
II
,
281–92; and GFK,
Memoirs,
I, 311–12.

30
GFK draft memorandum to Acheson (substance conveyed orally), February 17, 1950, in
FRUS: 1950
, I, 165; Hammond, “NSC-68,” pp. 291–92.

31
Nitze to Acheson, December 19, 1949, in
FRUS: 1949
, I, 610–11; GFK to Acheson, February 17, 1950, in
FRUS: 1950
, I, 165; Acheson,
Present at the Creation,
p. 753; GFK to Ellis O. Briggs, November 2, 1948, GFK Papers, 140:2. See also Nitze,
From Hiroshima to Glasnost
, pp. 96–97, and Gaddis,
Strategies of Containment,
pp. 91–92.

32
GFK interview, August 26, 1982, pp. 1–2; Nitze interview, p. 6.

33
See May,
American Cold War Strategy
. For Davies’s contribution, see Nitze,
From Hiroshima to Glasnost,
p. 94.

34
Hammond, “NSC-68,” pp. 310–15; Bohlen,
Witness to History
, p. 291.

35
Acheson,
Present at the Creation,
pp. 374–75; GFK interview, October 31, 1974, p. 5.

36
Hammond, “NSC-68,” pp. 317–18; Acheson,
Present at the Creation,
p. 347; Davies interview, pp. 9–10. This paragraph parallels closely one in my
Strategies of Containment,
p. 85. See also Nitze,
From Hiroshima to Glasnost,
p. 99.

37
ASK to KWK, January 3, 1950, JEK Papers; GFK to Ralph Jarvis, January 9, 1950, GFK Papers, 139:8.

38
JEK unpublished memoir.

39
GFK to Oppenheimer, February 13, 1950, Oppenheimer Papers, Box 42, “GFK” folder; GFK to Joseph H. Willits, February 16, 1950, GFK Papers, 139:8; GFK,
Memoirs,
I
,
485; GFK Diary, November 22, 1949.

40
Ibid.,
September 22, 1949; Acheson to GFK, October 17, 1949, GFK to Palmer, November 1, 1949, both in GFK Papers, 251:12; GFK, “Is War with Russia Inevitable? Five Solid Arguments for Peace,”
Reader’s Digest
(March 1950), 1-9. See also, on publicity, GFK Diary, November 12, 1949.

41
GFK to Oppenheimer, June 5, 1950, Oppenheimer Papers, Box 43, “GFK” folder; GFK Diary, June 10 and 15, 1950; JKH interview, p. 25; GFK,
Memoirs,
I
,
469–70; Alsop with Platt,
“I’ve Seen the Best of It,”
pp. 306–7.

42
The best account of the origins of the Korean War is now Stueck,
Rethinking the Korean War,
pp. 11–83.

43
GFK,
Memoirs,
I
,
484–85; Alsop,
“I’ve Seen the Best of It,”
pp. 306–7; Acheson,
Present at the Creation,
p. 402; Nitze,
From Hiroshima to Glasnost
, pp. 101–2. See also GFK interview by Paige, August 1, 1955, p. 1.

44
Nitze,
From Hiroshima to Glasnost
, p. 86; GFK,
Memoirs,
I
,
486–87.

45
GFK Diary, June 25, 1950; GFK interview by Paige, p. 3. See also Gaddis,
Long Peace,
pp. 86–87.

46
GFK Diary, June 27, 1950.

47
Alsop, “
I’ve Seen the Best of It
”, pp. 308–9; GFK Diary, June 27 and 29, 1950.

48
Ibid.,
June 26, 30, July 1, 10, 12, 17, 25, 1950; GFK background press conference, August 22, 1950, GFK Papers, 299:41. See also Bohlen,
Witness to History
, p. 291.

49
GFK Diary, June 29, July 11, 25, 1950.

50
Ibid.,
July 17, 31, 1950.

51
Ibid.,
June 28, July 21, 31, 1950. See also the PPS draft memorandum of July 22, 1950, in
FRUS: 1950
, VII, 449–54; Bohlen,
Witness to History
, pp. 292–93; and Nitze,
From Hiroshima to Glasnost,
p. 107.

52
Allison to Nitze, July 24, 1950, in
FRUS: 1950
, VII, 460–61; GFK Diary, June 29 and August 14, 1950; GFK to Acheson, August 23, 1950, Acheson Papers, Box 65, Memoranda of Conversations, “August, 1950” folder, Truman Library. See also, on the 38th parallel debate, Gaddis,
Long Peace,
pp. 97–99.

53
GFK to Acheson, August 21, 1950
,
in
FRUS: 1950,
VII, 623–28; Acheson,
Present at the Creation,
p. 446.

54
Nitze interview, p. 8; Berlin interview, pp. 12–13.

1
Quoted in Adam Begley, “Lonely Genius Club,”
New York Magazine,
January 30, 1995, 61-67. See also GFK,
Memoirs,
II, 17–18. Regis,
Who Got Einstein’s Office?
, provides an informal history of the Institute but never mentions Kennan. The Institute prepared its own shorter unpublished history on its seventy-fifth anniversary in 2005, entitled simply
Institute for Advanced Study
.

2
Dodds to GFK, January 3 and February 14, 1950, GFK to Dodds, February 16, 1950, GFK Papers, 11:1. See also Bird and Sherwin,
American Prometheus
, pp. 371–72, 431–32.

3
GFK,
Memoirs,
II, 20; Bird and Sherwin,
American Prometheus
, pp. 371–72, 427, 432. See also Chapter Sixteen, above, and Herken,
Brotherhood of the Bomb
, p. 206.

4
GFK,
Memoirs,
II, 4, 9–10, 18–19; GFK Diary, September 11, 1950 [misdated September 10].

5
GFK to Acheson, September 12, 1950, Acheson Papers, Box 32, “Secretary of State Alphabetical: Kelley-King” folder, Truman Library; GFK,
Memoirs,
II, 4–7; GFK lecture to Miss Fine’s School, May 23, 1951, GFK Papers, 300:6. The decline list is in the GFK Diary for 1950.

6
GFK,
Memoirs,
II, 8–9; GFK to Arthur Nevins, November 14, 1950, GFK Papers, 139:8; GFK to Gleason, October 6, 1950,
ibid.
For the reunion, see Chapter Sixteen, above.

7
GFK to Dodds, November 13, 1950, GFK Papers, 11:1; GFK to Earle, October 6, 1950, enclosing draft letter to James Russell,
ibid.,
139:8.

8
GFK,
Memoirs,
II, 19. For Oppenheimer’s assessment of von Neumann’s computer, see Institute for Advanced Study,
Report of the Director
, pp. 9–13; also Poundstone,
Prisoner’s Dilemma
, pp. 76–78.

9
GFK to Alsop, October 20, 1950, Alsop Papers, Part 1, General Correspondence, Box 5, October 1950.

10
Marshall to MacArthur, September 29, 1950, in
FRUS: 1950
, VII, 826. Chen,
China’s Road to the Korean War,
provides the best account of Chinese decision making during the early months of the Korean War; but see also Stueck,
Rethinking the Korean War,
pp. 102–11.

11
GFK Diary, December 1950. For the events of that week, see Stueck,
Korean War,
pp. 130–32.

12
GFK Diary, December 1950; GFK,
Memoirs,
II, 28–31; GFK to Acheson, December 4, 1950, Acheson Papers, Box 65, “Memoranda of Conversations, December, 1950” folder, Truman Library; Acheson,
Present at the Creation,
p. 476.

13
Minutes, Truman-Attlee meeting, December 4, 1950, in
FRUS: 1950
, VII, 1367.

14
Lucius D. Battle memorandum, Acheson meeting with GFK, Rusk, Nitze, and others, December 4, 1950
,
in
FRUS: 1950
, VII, 1345–46; W. J. McWilliams memorandum, Acheson meeting with GFK, Rusk, Nitze, and others, December 5, 1950,
ibid.,
p. 1385; GFK to Alsop, December 17, 1950, Alsop Papers, Part 1, General Correspondence, Box 6, “December, 1950” folder.

15
GFK to KWK, January 2, 1951 [misdated 1950], JEK Papers.

16
GFK, “How New Are Our Problems?” and “The National Interest of the United States,” delivered on January 29–30, 1951, at Northwestern University, later published in
Illlinois Law Review
45 (1951), 718–42. See also GFK’s Roosevelt Day Dinner address to the Americans for Democratic Action, New York, January 27, 1951, GFK Papers, 251:17, reprinted as GFK, “Let Peace Not Die of Neglect,”
New York Times Magazine,
February 25, 1951, pp. 10ff; and his report for the Woodrow Wilson Foundation, “American Participation in Multilateral Authority,” March 15, 1951,
ibid.,
300:3. GFK discussed his growing environmental interests in a September 8, 1983, interview, pp. 18–20. Berlin’s article, entitled “Political Ideas in the Twentieth Century,” appeared in
Foreign Affairs
28 (April 1950), 351–85.

17
“Kennan Joins Ford Foundation,”
New York Times,
February 20, 1951; Hoffman to GFK, March 12, 1951, GFK Papers, 13:18. The salary figures are from a memorandum GFK prepared for the State Department, January 23, 1951,
ibid.,
and from Bird and Sherwin,
American Prometheus
, p. 432. See also “Ford Fund Grants Emphasize ‘Deeds,’ ”
New York Times,
June 3, 1951; and GFK to KWK, December 17, 1951, JEK Papers.

18
GFK to Hoffman, February 8 and March 8, 1951, GFK Papers, 13:18; Schlesinger undated diary entry, in Schlesinger to JLG, March 31, 1994, JLG Papers; Schlesinger interview, p. 1; Oppenheimer to Robert M. Hutchins, February 16, 1951, Lewis Strauss Papers, IAS Files, Box 108 (courtesy of Craig Wright); GFK to KWK, March 1, 1951, JEK Papers.

19
GFK to Hoffman, March 8, 1951, GFK Papers, 13:18; “Ford Found to Aid Soviet Refugees,”
New York Times,
May 18, 1951. For the first Kennan’s work with Russian exiles, see Travis,
George Kennan
, pp. 195–248.

20
Chester,
Covert Network
, pp. 43–53, provides a good account of the Ford Foundation’s relationship with the CIA. See also Pisani,
CIA and the Marshall Plan
, pp. 46–52.

21
GFK interview, September 7, 1983, pp. 23–26; GFK to Nicholas Nabokov, October 18, 1951, GFK Papers, 32:13. See also Chester,
Covert Network
, pp. 49–51, 124–27; and GFK,
Memoirs,
II, 8–9.

22
Ibid.,
pp. 72–73; GFK to Hoffman, March 8, 1951, GFK Papers, 13:18. For Morgenthau’s role, see Thompson interview, p. 7.

23
Link interview, p. 1; GFK interview, September 8, 1983, p. 8; and Rusk interview, p. 6. See also Earle to Leopold, February 2, 1951, Richard W. Leopold Papers, 45:6.

24
GFK Diary, April 2–4, 1951.

25
Ibid.,
April 9, 16, 1951. GFK’s opening lecture, entitled “Introduction,” is in the GFK Papers, 251:21.

26
GFK,
Memoirs,
II, 75–76; Thompson interview, December 6, 1982, pp. 1–2.

27
GFK Diary, April 16–17, 1951, GFK Papers, 232:2.

28
Ibid.,
August–September 1951.

29
Corrigan and Cory memorandum, May 3, 1951, in
FRUS: 1951
, VII, 401–10.

30
Davies to Nitze, May 8, 1951,
ibid.,
pp. 421–22.

31
G. Frederick Reinhardt summary of GFK’s views, sent to Acheson on March 17, 1951,
ibid.,
pp. 241–43.

32
GFK memorandum, undated, GFK to Tsarapkin, May 26, 1951, both
ibid.,
pp. 460–62.