Read George Kennan’s【1】 speech at Milwaukee. It is strong against the Soviet Union. It is permeated with a sense of American limitations. He has undoubtedly thought through the problems. Back in 1943, ’44 and ’45, he was probably not so naive about Soviet democracy or Soviet cooperation as many others in authority. Now he is not so harsh against the pro-Russian elements as he might be expected to be. He has deep sense of fundamental Soviet hostility towards the West as well as Soviet strength. In the part devoted to China, he accepts essentially the thesis of the White Book. In this respect, he has not really understood the causes of the American failure, causes which will lead to failure in other parts of Asia. In this game of helping the Orientals, Americans are raw. Men like Robert Hart,【2】 John Foster (1895),【3】 and even Donald 【端訥] of Australia, with the prestige of Marshall or his national backing, succeeded better than Marshall. Why does Kennan not reflect upon this?
Had a long chat with Frye【4】 of the Christian Science Monitor: a young reporter just starting at Lake Success. He seems to be open-minded and anxious to be fair. We will see.
【注】
【1】George F. Kennan(1904-2005),生於美國威斯康辛州密瓦基市,美國外交官與歷史學家。
曾提出以圍堵政策對抗戰後蘇聯的擴張,影響美國的冷戰政策。
1925年自普林斯頓大學畢業後進入美國外交界工作,1933年曾隨美國首任駐蘇大使蒲立德前往蘇聯。
1935年後曾派駐維也納、布拉格與柏林、里斯本、莫斯科等地,1946年返美。
1947年起任美國國務院政策規劃主任,1949-1950年任國務院參事,後加入普林斯頓高等研究院。
1952年任駐蘇大使,1956年取得普林斯頓高等研究院歷史研究教授的終身職,1961-1963年任駐南斯拉夫大使。
參考:Who Was Who in America with World Notables vol. 16, 2004-2005, p. 144; “George F. Kennan,” Encyclopaedia Britannica, accessed Jul. 15, 2021, https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-F-Kennan。
【2】Robert Hart(1835-1911),中譯名赫德,字鷺賓,生於北愛爾蘭。
1853年通過英國外交人員甄試派至中國工作,1863-1908年擔任海關總稅務司。
參考:中央研究院近代史研究所,〈赫德〉,近現代人物資訊整合系統。
【3】John Watson Foster(1836-1917),中譯福士達、科士達,美國律師與外交官。
1873-1880年任美國駐墨西哥公使,1880-1881年任駐俄公使,之後在華盛頓開設國際法律事務所。
1883-1885年任駐西班牙大使,1892-1893年任美國國務卿。
他曾擔任中國駐美公使館法律顧問,1895年曾受中國委任協助與日本進行馬關條約的談判。
他是John Foster Dulles的外祖父。
參考:Lee H. Burke and Jan K. Herman, The Secretaries of State: Portraits and Biographical Sketches (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of States, 1978), p. 64-65;黃嘉謨,《美國與臺灣:一七八四至一八九五》(臺北:中央研究院近代史研究所,1966),頁414-420。
【4】William R. Frye,1950年起擔任《基督科學箴言報》(The Christian Science Monitor)駐聯合國記者。
參考:William R. Frye, A UN Peace Force? (New York: Public Affairs Committee, 1957), p. 1。