EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the US the sole indisputable world power with almost unlimited resources. However, over the past decade, it has become clear that US resources are not limitless. The Eurasian landmass now contains many competitors with strategies opposed to those of Washington. In a sense, the monolithic Soviet Union was easier to contain than the simultaneous challenges of a rising China, a revanchist Russia, and an ambitious Iran. There are further serious problems to be dealt with, such as terrorism and cyber security. Containment of post-Cold War Eurasia will be no easy task for the US.
From WWII through the breakup of the Soviet Union, the US shared world dominance with its major competitor in Moscow. Despite the numerous local conflicts that took place during those 40 or so years, the two powers’ relatively equal strength gave the world geopolitical stability. Washington spent enormous amounts in terms of both finances and military strength to contain the Sino-Soviet bloc, as much of Eurasia was under communist control.
The fundamental principle of American strategy at that time was military and economic containment. Washington was unable to defeat the Soviet Union militarily, and that fact compelled the Americans to develop a new strategy to check it. Thence came the spread of US influence to parts of Europe, Iran, and the Asia-Pacific. The Soviet strategy was to outmaneuver US containment by instigating insurgencies in the US neighborhood.