So long as the USSR did not stage a military attack, containment’s reliance on economic sticks and carrots, competition within the world communist movement, intelligence and diplomacy, and promoting the vitality of the capitalist democracies would guarantee security. Kennan was right: the dysfunctional features of Soviet system, and its over-extension internationally, would lead to its demise.
遏制的目标是要防止苏联的势力扩大，同时又不给美国造成无法承载的军事负担。只要苏维埃社会主义共和国联盟（USSR）不首先发动军事袭击，那么遏制政策就能靠经济大棒和胡萝卜、靠世界共产主义运动的内部矛盾、靠情报和外交手段、靠焕发资本主义民主国家的内部活力来保证我们的安全。凯南是对的：运行失衡的苏联政治制度，再加上它在国际上的过度扩张，最终必然导致苏联的毁灭。