This is an excerpt from a speech made by President Truman in 1951.The communists . . . are engaged in a monstrous conspiracy to stamp out freedom all over the world. . . .The only question is: When is the best time to meet the threat and how?

Truman describes communism as a worldwide threat and asks when and how the United States should confront it. This reflects the policy of containment: resisting the spread of Soviet influence rather than trying to end World War II or publish propaganda. The correct choice is “containing the Soviet Union’s influence.”

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