The Man Who Changed the World

It is difficult for me to rationally discuss George F. Kennan's legacy and his passing. As a junior in high school I was obligated to read Kennan's book American Diplomacy and it had a profound affect on me. Mr. Kennan may have been ambivalent about his "Long Telegram," his anonymously published "The Sources of Soviet Conduct" and containment the policy those works inspired, but we owe him a debt of gratitude. It is quite plausible that the US would have stumbled onto this policy anyway, but we didn't have to because we had Kennan. The NY Times has a lengthy piece on Kennan and his career. Richard Holbrooke reflects on the paradox that was Kennan and the Christian Science Monitor talks about his "profound global effect."