Containment was a foreign policy strategy utilized by the United States during the Cold War. In 1947, George F. Kennan was the first to implement the policy. According to the policy, communism had to be contained and isolated, or it would spread to neighboring countries. Containment kept Americans informed about world affairs and apprehensive of expanding Soviet dominance, while also giving the US a sense of success despite the absence of an actual war. The containment policy stifled future Soviet power expansion, exposed Soviet pretensions, and forced the Kremlin to relinquish control and influence.