“I said that wherever these people, meaning the Soviet leadership, confronted us with dangerous hostility anywhere in the world, we should do everything possible to contain it and not let them expand any further. I should have explained that I didn't suspect them of any desire to launch an attack on us.”

—  George F. Kennan

Interview on Online NewsHour : "George Kennan" (PBS) (18 April 1996) http://www.pbs.org/newshour/gergen/kennan.html
Context: I said that wherever these people, meaning the Soviet leadership, confronted us with dangerous hostility anywhere in the world, we should do everything possible to contain it and not let them expand any further. I should have explained that I didn't suspect them of any desire to launch an attack on us. This was right after the war, and it was absurd to suppose that they were going to turn around and attack the United States. I didn't think I needed to explain that, but I obviously should have done it.

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George F. Kennan 46
American advisor, diplomat, political scientist and histori… 1904–2005

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