The Foreign Service Journal, February 2004

Japan’s greater strategic importance relative to China in the region, and ensured that the United States government operated from that premise. He also influenced policy toward both Japan and China. On China, Kennan, with the notable assistance of John Paton Davies, took a leading part in developing the policy of limited assistance without deep involvement which led to the China Aid Act of 1948. He constantly and successfully opposed efforts to involve the United States more deeply on the side of the Nationalist Chinese. In terms of policy toward Japan, both as implemented and as formally enunciated, Kennan’s contribution was deci- sive. He stood at the center of those who executed the “reverse course,” which redirected occupation policies toward economic recovery and away from political reform measures. The extent of Kennan’s influence on American policies in Asia suggests that his impact there may well have exceeded his influence on American policy in Europe. Growing Frustration Whatever the specifics of the debit and credit sides of the Kennan balance sheet on policy for- mulation, there can be no question- ing his central place in the making of American foreign policy during his tenure as direc- tor of the Policy Planning Staff. Aside from the presi- dent and the respective secretaries and under secre- taries of State, he was the one official who addressed the whole range of foreign policy concerns during that period. Through his concurrent responsibilities as director of policy planning and as the State Department consultant to the National Security Council, Kennan found himself at the vortex of the pol- F O C U S F E B R U A R Y 2 0 0 4 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 29 Kennan had strong views on the role of the Foreign Service officer and strove to live up to his own standards.