Explain NSC-68?

NSC-68 was a 58-page classified report written in February-April 1950 by Paul Nitze and issued by the United States National Security Council on April 14, 1950 during the presidency of Harry Truman. The report, written in the aftermath of the decision to build a hydrogen bomb, was declassified in 1977 and has become one of the classic historical documents of the Cold War era.

The document, inspired by George Frost Kennan and his “long telegram” in 1946, “portrayed the Soviet Union in the most aggressive light possible and called, among other things, for a massive American rearmament,” in the words of historian Michael J. Hogan. “Perhaps more than any other document of the period, NSC-68 can claim to be the bible of American national security policy and the fullest statement to that point of the new ideology that guided American leaders” (A Cross of Iron: Harry S. Truman and the Origins of the National Security State, 1945-1954 [Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998], p. 12). The document outlined the National Security Strategy of the United States for that time and analyzed the capabilities of the Soviet Union and of the United States of America from military, economic, political, and psychological standpoints.

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Nsc 68

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RE:

Explain NSC-68?

It was a top secret National Security Council objective in 1950. Something having to do with communism, I assume. I fell asleep in high school honors US history today and I have a huge test tomorrow…

(Memorize this and you should do fine on the test)

NSC-68

Reassessment of US foreign policy

Nineteen-forty nine forced a change in US containment strategy. The loss of China, the first Soviet nuclear explosion, and the Alger Hiss case prompted Truman to order a restudy of Soviet intentions. The result was NSC-68. NSC-68 was written by the Policy Planning Staff of the US State Department. The chair of the committee was Paul Nitze.

The Soviet threat

NSC-68 remilitarized US foreign policy. It:

concluded the Soviets would try to take over the free world by military force, if necessary.

concluded the Soviets were dedicated to the overthrow of capitalism

Prescription for winning the cold war

NSC-68 called for:

remilitarization of US foreign policy.

raising of taxes.

more money spent on defense.

US defense of every part of the free world, as it would be in remote regions that the communists might test US resolve.

NSC-68 planners believed increased defense spending would raise the American standard of living. This was considered a nice “by-product” of Cold War thinking.

Too hot to handle at first

NSC-68 appeared on the desk of President Truman in March 1950. Politically, it was too hot to handle (especially that part about taxes). The Korean War kicked it into gear, however. Defense spending went from $11 billion in 1949 to over $50 billion in 1950. Defense spending levels have remained high to the present day.

Not only did NSC-68 call for a tippling of the size of Government Military to fight “global communism” but (to pay for it) America would, according to Harry Truman in 1950… ” These manpower needs will call both for increasing our labor force by reducing unemployment and drawing in women and older workers, and for lengthening hours of work in essential industries. ” And as a result society saw longer working hours for an extended time before retirement and a new participation by both men and women; and society experienced the Korean and Vietnam wars and arguments against liberals on matters of Healthcare, Welfare and Education to the affect of something like “We Just Can t Afford It” Ironically, back in 2008, both the CIA and UN had ranked impoverished Cuba as either having a longer Life Expectancy, or on par with Americans Life Expectancy, at around 40th place or so depending on which organization studies life expectancy, which questions the point fighting communism to the point of consuming our way of life, the whole point the military was tasked to protect. (since then we ve seen health care reform and the lifting of sanctions on Cuba that were meant to encourage the populace, in pursuit of their well-being, to overthrow “global communism” in pursuit of their well-being, all of which is ultimately a detour away from NSC-68.

https://shorturl.im/OStqs

Clint, I’m attaching a link to the NSC 68 document below for you to review and consider as well as to allow you the chance to see for yourself what the document represented during the Cold War. The objectives of the document are what the NSC 68 document represented “exactly” during the Cold War and I am providing a brief of them here for you now: The objectives of a free society are determined by its fundamental values and by the necessity for maintaining the material environment in which they flourish. Logically and in fact, therefore, the Kremlin’s challenge to the United States is directed not only to our values but to our physical capacity to protect their environment. It is a challenge which encompasses both peace and war and our objectives in peace and war must take account of it. 1. Thus we must make ourselves strong, both in the way in which we affirm our values in the conduct of our national life, and in the development of our military and economic strength. 2. We must lead in building a successfully functioning political and economic system in the free world. It is only by practical affirmation, abroad as well as at home, of our essential values, that we can preserve our own integrity, in which lies the real frustration of the Kremlin design. 3. But beyond thus affirming our values our policy and actions must be such as to foster a fundamental change in the nature of the Soviet system, a change toward which the frustration of the design is the first and perhaps the most important step. Clearly it will not only be less costly but more effective if this change occurs to a maximum extent as a result of internal forces in Soviet society. Now, go through this document and see for yourself with self determination as to what you feel are attached to those points that you are specifically seeking. Good question…star coming and best of luck! Gerry