NSC-68 A Report to the National Security Council

The NSC-68 was a report issued by the United States National Security Council on April 14, 1950, during the presidency of Harry S. Truman. This document was written during the formative stages of the cold war. This document would shape U.S foreign Policy in the Cold War for the next 20 years. Truman officially signed NSC-68 on September 30, 1950.  President Truman wanted to make people conscious about the terrible wars that the world had endured, and asked his colleagues to think of other strategies to put in place in order to avoid such terrible and bloody wars.

 Within the past thirty-five years the world has experienced two global wars of tremendous violence. The government does not want this same situation to repeat again. Many people suffered the consequences of the massive war destruction caused by gun machines, torpedoes, fire bombs and ultimately the atomic bomb, which were used by powerful countries to destroy each other. In addition, because of war, the world has seen the collapse of five empires: the Ottoman, the Austro-Hungarian, German, Italian and Japanese. Furthermore, war was the major cause of the drastic decline of two major imperial systems, the British and the French. 

 The NSC-68 report was written to try to fix the errors committed by powerful countries during time of war. People desire to end the threat of war, because since the dropping of the atomic bomb there has been fear of it being used again, this time to destroy entire civilizations. The NSC-68 report called for significant peacetime military spending in which the U.S. possessed "superior overall power, in a dependable combination with other like minded nations." This means that a military power capable to defend the country and the entire Western Hemisphere is essential for the allied forces to keep peace. The capability of providing security to the nation is extremely important for the United States.

 In conclusion, this report called for the development of an adequate political and economic framework for the achievement of our long range military objectives. It was essential for the government to strengthen its political, economic, and military services for the freedom of the world.