The article "The Sources of Soviet Conduct" also known as Article "X" is a foundational document necessary for understanding the foreign policy of states United in Cold War. Written by George F. Keenan, a U.S. diplomatic staffer in the Soviet Union, Article “X” turned into an influential document after the United States realized that the Soviet Union would no longer be a peacetime ally and it was necessary to understand its nature. of the Soviet Union so that the United States could formulate precise foreign policies to prevent Soviet threats. This article attempts to evaluate the influence of Article "X" on US foreign policy in the early days of the Cold War, particularly its role in the Truman Doctrine. IntroductionAfter a few years after the publication of the "X" article, "containment", the term coined by Keenan became a key word to describe US foreign policy in overcoming Soviet threats. However, Keenan criticized Truman's containment policy as “too universalistic” as it placed the United States in the grueling task of blocking any Soviet expansion into free countries (Keenan, 1967). Indeed, the policy of containment was influencing US involvement in several conflicts, from Germany to Vietnam. In the same article “X” Keenan made several important points that generated his “containment” recommendation (Keenan, 1947). First, he argued that the politics of the Soviet Union was dominated by rigid decision makers, who mainly stemmed from their subjective Marxist perspective, and showed hostility towards the capitalist system. He also tried to convince the United States that the Soviet Union had a strong belief in the Marxist theory of social revolution, regardless of current circumstances, and implied in his arguments that the Soviet Union had... middle of paper... .... multiple contexts. Total words: 1,610 (no more than 10% of 1,500 words required) Works Cited Bostdorff, D.M. (2008). Proclaiming the Truman Doctrine: The Cold War Calls to Arms. College Station: Texas A & M University Press. Frazier, R. (2009) Kennan, “Universalism” and the Truman Doctrine. Journal of Cold War Studies, 3-34.Harry S. Truman. (n.d.). . Retrieved July 11, 2014, from http://millercenter.org/president/truman/essays/biography/2Keenan, G. F. Source of the Soviet Conduct (1947, July). Journal of Foreign Affairs. Kennan, G. F. (1967). Memoirs, 1925-1950. New York: Bantam. McCullough, D. G. (1992). Truman. New York: Simon & Schuster.Truman, H.S. (1947, March 12). The Truman Doctrine. Delivered before a joint session of Congress. Washington DC Truman, H.S. (2011, November 10). Keenan's age. The New York Times.