Did the assumption of containment lead the United States into unwise commitments and actions in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, or was the nation acting prudently in response to hostile communist expansionism?

Sadly it led to unwise commitments to countries located in these regions. The United States was so determined to contain or wipe threat of communism that it went so far as to support corrupt and dictatorial regimes that only encouraged the spread of communism rather than contain it.