Well, that was sort of my point. We were so hell bent on fighting an enemy we'd created in our minds (and vice-versa for those in the USSR) that we lost all rationality, it seems.
I'd liken it to religious fanatics who seem incredibly fearful of other religions. If they're so sure they've got "the way," then their beliefs should be able to stand up to scrutiny or comparison with other belief systems.
>Well, that was sort of my point. We were so hell bent on fighting an enemy we'd created in our minds (and vice-versa for those in the USSR) that we lost all rationality, it seems.
No, the foreign policy actions were very rational. It's not like they got duped by some dictator posing as "anti-communist".
They knew what they were getting and what they were supporting (as all historical accounts and de-classified documents show).
They just wanted to gain influence to those parts of the world (for resources, trade routes, military bases etc) at any cost.
Yeah, I suppose that creating the enemy in communism that we did served the foreign policy purposes of the nutjobs pushing it, but it wasn't rational at the human level.
I'd liken it to religious fanatics who seem incredibly fearful of other religions. If they're so sure they've got "the way," then their beliefs should be able to stand up to scrutiny or comparison with other belief systems.