Iron Curtain Speech by Churchill

Introduction 

Churchill was one of the superior leaders in the 20 th century who was admired by many people, especially in the UK. He was one of the celebrated Prime Ministers in Britain who served between 1940 and 1945, and he was later reelected in 1951 to serve in the same position. Churchill was the person who coined the term Iron Curtain when he delivered his delivered his famous speech, which later became known as Churchill’s Iron Curtain Speech. He delivered his speech on 5 th March 1946 when he was honored with an honorary degree in one of the US universities. The term was used to explain the strong division that was eminent between Western powers and the Soviet Union. There were a lot of controversies and misunderstandings that was linked to the Churchill’s speech ( Pavkovic & Radan, 2003) . 

Question 1 

Churchill argued in his speech that Soviet Union was only interested on the benefits of the war and its determination to conquer other nations, including its doctrine (Churchill, 1946). Nevertheless, Churchill’s argument on the Soviet’s desire to expand its territory poses many challenges on the principles of political self-determination that was favored by Western countries, including UK that was led by Churchill. The principle stated that persons and nations had the liberty to determine their political status, including their socio-economic status statuses ( Pavkovic & Radan, 2003) . Hence, the principle embraced the determination of the Soviet Union to expand its territory because it had the political right to expand its territories by taking over other neighboring nations. On the other hand, the desire by Soviet Union to expand its territory was violating the principle, especially with regard to human rights and freedom. Consequently, leaders like Churchill were in dilemma because they were not sure of the actions to take against Soviet Union. The expansionist desire challenged the western principles of national political self-determination. 

Question 2 

Churchill recognized that Russia had to protect itself against foreign intrusion. At the same time, he was worried of the impact of Soviet action on Eastern Europe. Consequently, it is possible to argue that Churchill did not show consistency on how he perceived the actions that Soviet was taking. However, critical examination of his speech proves that Churchill was giving sufficient and concrete reasons for the issues he was talking about. He validly argued that Soviet Union needed to protect itself from external attackers, especially from its rivals. As a result, it made sense for Russia to protect its borders, as well as its citizens. Besides, Soviet Union was violating basic human right, which was a concern to many people, including Churchill (Churchill, 1946). At the same time, it violated the rights of innocent people. As a leader who was concerned about other nations and people, therefore, Churchill was justified voice his worries on inhumane actions that soviet were executing against other countries and innocent people. Hence, it is possible to conclude that Churchill showed inconsistency in his speech. In the contrary, Churchill was only being rational on his argument, which is expected from any person who cares about the world and its people. 

Question 3 

Churchill opined that Russians focus a lot on its strength and that they were not interested in military weakness. Consequently, the main issue is whether Churchill was championing for war with Soviet or just making general comments. It is not easy to conclude whether he was championing for war with Russia when he made such conclusion in his speech. Nevertheless, this latter statement in the speech proved gearing for war with the Soviet Union (Churchill, 1946). It was possible that Churchill was asking for military unity with the US with the aim of confronting the Soviet in order to prevent its expansionist move that was endangering many nations and people. 

In addition, Churchill’s speech could have been given anywhere apart from USA. Nonetheless, it is apparent that the motive of the Churchill’s speech was to establish a fruitful and mutual relationship with powerful countries like USA. Churchill was clear in his speech when he argued that friendly relationship between people speaking English language was crucial in the preventing international war. He wanted some military unity between the US and the UK. A good example is when he encouraged the US and Britain to work together, especially terms of military advisers and the development weapons. Besides, USA was becoming one of the most powerful countries in the world and would be useful in influencing international issues. Hence, Churchill picked USA because his message was targeting US leaders and Citizen (Churchill, 1946). 

Conclusion 

Winston Churchill is still one of the world’s celebrated leaders. He was able to use his oratory skills to persuade the world to come together and solve international conflicts in the 20 th century. The Iron Curtain Speech is one of the things that prove that Churchill was a great orator. At the same time, he was a great leader is still remembered by the world. He was one of the people who managed to bring peace when the world was facing a lot of conflicts. 

References 

Churchill, W. (1946). Winston Churchill's Iron Curtain Speech. Retrieved from http://www.historyguide.org/europe/churchill.html 

Pavkovic, A., & Radan, P. (2003). In pursuit of sovereignty and self-determination: peoples, states, and secession in the international order. Macquarie Law Journal , 3 (1).