What does Truman mean when he claims, "Should we fail to aid Greece and Turkey in this fatal hour, the effect will be far reaching to the West, as well as t the East"?
President Truman's policy was to "contain" Communism. The Greek Civil War pitted "western" against "communist" forces.
http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Civil_War
besides, financial and foreign affairs...what problems did the U.S. face after the war of 1812?
When President Truman made the statement you mentioned, he was referring to the Truman Doctrine, a policy he proposed in 1947. This doctrine aimed to provide assistance to Greece and Turkey, who were facing threats from communism at the time.
To understand what Truman meant by his statement, we need to look at the context of the Cold War, which was the geopolitical conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union. Truman believed that if Greece and Turkey were to fall into the hands of communist regimes, it would have far-reaching consequences for the entire Western world.
So, when Truman spoke of the "fatal hour," he was emphasizing the urgency of the situation. He believed that if Greece and Turkey were not supported and communism triumphed, it would embolden the Soviet Union to expand its influence further westward. This expansion threatened the stability and security of the entire Western world, including Europe and the United States.
By expressing that the effect would be "far reaching to the West, as well as the East," Truman was highlighting that the spread of communism would not only impact the Eastern European countries dominated by the Soviets but also have significant implications for Western democracies.
In summary, Truman's statement emphasized the importance of providing aid to Greece and Turkey as a means to prevent the spread of communism and to protect Western interests in the face of Soviet expansionism during the early years of the Cold War.