Ask the Scholar

This letter to Secretary of State James F. Byrnes is both an admonition and a declaration of foreign policy. According to the letter, President Harry S. Truman was very upset by Byrnes' lack of communication with the President while Byrnes attended the Council of Foreign Ministers conference in Moscow. In the letter, Truman reiterates his desire to delegate authority to his cabinet members but to always remain fully informed on issues. Truman states he has no intention of recognizing the "police states" of Romania and Bulgaria unless the governments are changed and that he wants to protest loudly the Soviet actions in Iran. He strongly voices his disapproval of Soviet expansion into and occupation of neighboring countries. He declares that "unless Russia is faced with an iron fist and strong language another war is in the making". Truman summarizes the remainder of his wishes to counteract Soviet influence and concludes by stating "I'm tired of babying the Soviets".