But the other side of the coin would be, inevitably, the flowering of crime and corruption around the gambling business.
The speech promised monetary aid and military advisors to Greece and Turkey, but the doctrine was expanded worldwide as part of the Cold War to cover assistance to all nations threatened by communism and the Soviet Union, involving the US with western Europe, Korea and Vietnam among others.
The effort strained Britainâs economy, which was still weak from World War II. In February 1947, Britain informed the United States that it could no longer afford to help Greece. On March 12, 1947, Truman went before Congress to ask for $400 million to fight Communist aggres- sion in Greece and Turkey. His speech outlined a pol- icy which became known as the Truman Doctrine.