CONFERENCES & EVENTS

March 12-13, 1997
Washington, DC

1997 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the most remarkable events in American history: the Truman Doctrine. The decision by President Harry S. Truman in 1947 to intervene in Greece to counter the threat of Soviet communism represented a turning point in world history. It committed the United States to the policy of containment of the Soviet Union. In terms of the preservation of human freedom and dignity, this policy represents perhaps the most successful foreign policy initiative undertaken by the United States, culminating as it did in the fall of European communities in 1991.

To commemorate this event and to mark its inception in Greece, the Academy of Political Science co-sponsored a conference that was held in Washington, D.C., on March 12-13, 1997 with the American Hellenic Institute Foundation.

Distinguished speakers, some of whom were active participants in the dramatic events of that era, recreated the atmosphere of the time. They discussed the background to President Truman's historic decision and its impact and legacy.

The conference also looked forward. Discussions were held on the current balance of power in the Mediterranean and its implications for United States policy toward this strategically vital area.

THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE: FROM INCEPTION TO IMPLEMENTATION

Chair:
Larry J. Hackman
Director, Truman Library

Harry S. Truman and the Decision to Contain Communism in Greece
Alonzo Hamby
Ohio University

Evolution of the Truman Doctrine/Marshall Plan
Larry I. Bland
Editor of the George C. Marshall Papers, Marshall Foundation

Implementing the Truman Doctrine: The Economic Recovery of Greece
James C. Warren, Jr.
U.S. Economic Mission to Greece

Impressions of a Speechwriter
George Elsey
President Truman's speechwriter

American Perceptions of Greece, 1944-1947: Reminiscences of an Eyewitness
William H. McNeill
Professor Emeritus of History, University of Chicago

GREECE'S STRATEGIC IMORTANCE: THE MILITARY DIMENSION

Chair:
Demetrios Caraley
Professor of Political Science, Barnard College
President of The Academy of Political Science
Editor of the Political Science Quarterly

The Strategic Importance of Greece to the Balance of Power in the Mediterranean and Europe
Lawrence Korb
Brookings Institution
Former Assistant Secretary of Defense

The Strategic Importance of Greece from the Truman Doctrine to the Present
Admiral Henry Mustin
United States Navy, Retired

General James A. Van Fleet and the U.S. Military Mission to Greece
Paul F. Braim
Embry-Riddle University

The Truman Doctrine: A Turning Point in World History
General Andrew J. Goodpaster
United States Army, Retired

Lieutenant General Photios Metallinos
Retired, Special Analyst in International Relations, Hellenic Institute of Strategic Studies

THE GREEK CRISIS: PRELUDE TO THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE

Chair:
Lieutenant General Pericles Papathanassiou

The U.S. Role in the Greek Civil War
Professor Basil Kondis
Director, Institute for Balkan Studies

The Crisis of the 1940s and the Road to Democratic Stability
Professor P. Nikiforos Diamandouros
University of Athens

Greece and the United States
Professor Theodore A. Couloumbis
University of Athens

THE TRUMAN DOCTRINE: IMPACT AND LEGACY

Chair:
Professor John O. Iatrides

The U.S.-Greek Strategic Relationship During the Cold War and Beyond
Ambassador Monteagle Stearns
Southern Connecticut State University

Professor Athanassios Platias
Panteion University

Dr. Van Coufoudakis
Dean, School of Arts and Sciences
Indiana University-Purdue University

Eugene T. Rossides, Esq.
Senior Counsel, Rogers & Wells
President, American Hellenic Institute Foundation