Introduction
The document assigned is the National Security Council Report 68 (NSC-68) that is a 58 page paper that was written for the eyes of President Truman. In this case, the paper was a product of the research of the US departments of State and Defense on the continued expansion of power of the Soviet bloc. After the collapse of the wartime alliance between the US and the Soviet bloc there was significant threat of international communism in the world. This was further propelled with the triumph of Mao Zedong who went on to rule until 1976. The document was written in 1950 in the US and would be a top secret document that would identify the militarization process of the US forces as they prepared for the Cold War that was looming. This foreign policy strategy would be implemented in the next few decades.
Chronological Occurrence of Events
The report would look into addressing the changing world that the US would have to encounter. Before the World War II there numerous countries that were identified as great world powers including Germany, Japan, France and Great Britain. However, the wars had greatly affected these countries as they had suffered terrific losses in battle. The report would identify the present US President Harry S. Truman (National Security Council, 1950). This was mainly to inform him of the different ways that he could tackle the impeding danger. Though the US had been affected by the war, it had been able to maintain the stature of a great world power. However, the Soviet Union that had previously been a wartime ally had detached itself from relations with the US and instead formed close relations with other countries that embraced communism such as China posing a major threat to the US. In this regard, the Soviet Union would be seen as the greatest danger to the US power.
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According to the authors of the report, the Soviet Union was seeking absolute power over all the countries of the world. In this case, eliminating the US would serve as the surest way of signifying world domination. This would mean that clashes between these two great world powers would be imminent. This is was particularly evident where an nuclear weapon was discovered to have exploded in the Soviet bloc a few months before the report was compiled (National Security Council, 1950). Development of nuclear weapons was also identified as a clear danger not only to the US but the entire world where the entire population faced the looming danger of total annihilation. The integrity of the United States and the vitality that was established through the democratic system was at great risk than ever before in history. Therefore, it was necessary that the report identified ways that the United States could effectively contain the continued Expansion of the Soviet bloc. This would be possible through continued expansion of the US military forces and further development of the nuclear arsenal.
The report was heavily inclined towards militarization of the US and continued support of the development of nuclear warfare. This would also include the development of a hydrogen bomb that would serve as a massive explosive that could eliminate the enemy with maximum damage occurring in the battlefield. The report also required that the US increase its contribution to the US allies. This was where the US would be able to gather enough support from countries particularly those that were closely bordering the US bloc (National Security Council, 1950). The security department would identify the need to incorporate the use of covert techniques as a means of achieving the desired goals of the US. Hereby, the CIA department would be utilized effectively where spies would be sent to observe and report on the secret events taking place in the Soviet bloc. This is particularly in the development of nuclear weapon power. The government agency would also be able to hire individuals from the Soviet bloc and have them report on the events taking place in their own country. This was a significant means of ensuring that the intentions of the US would not be easily noticed by the Soviet bloc. The price of undertaking this proposal would mean a total cost of $50 billion to the US government. This was nearly triple the amount the government was already spending in ensuring the defense of the country a total of $13 billion.
The report was a great concern for President Truman particularly in terms of the costs that would have to be incurred by the US government. This would mean that the US had to increase taxes to the American public a decision that Truman would hesitate on publicly supporting. The world had particularly put an end to the World War II hence explaining to the public that the country required significant enhancement of its national security (National Security Council, 1950). The world was in a state of peace and there was little evidence to demonstrate that the US was facing significant danger from the Soviet bloc and other significant communism powers. The recommendations that had been identified by the US departments of state, defense and the CIA would be nearly impossible to achieve. This would require the input of different mass motivation so as to understand the need for significant increase in defense costs. However, Truman did not reject the recommendations that were provided by the NSC-68. Instead he returned the report to ensure that the members of the council would revise it.
The President would require that the council take atleast two months in revising the report. Nevertheless, there was no progress made in the following two months and many of the members had practically given upon the proposal. However, North Korean forces would cross the 38 th parallel north that formed the border between North and South Korea. This would result in an outbreak of war. This was the stimulus that the National Security Council had been waiting for as a means of pushing through their proposed recommendations (National Security Council, 1950). The Truman administration would then start off a nationwide public relations campaign as they sought to convince members of the congress and other individuals who controlled the opinion of the public. The public relations campaign was seen as means of convincing the alternative thoughts present in Congress as some had proposed the detachment of the US from involvement in the world events. Others had thought of extreme actions such as the strategy of rollback that would be used to significantly eliminate the practice of communism that could possibly lead to preemptive war. The attack of North Korean forces would establish a balance between the two poles of preemptive war and isolationism.
Conclusion
The above document is seen as a critical discussion of the various events that were taking place around the world. The US government was looking forward into the future in a bid to identify the potential cause of war. The Soviet bloc was seen as a looming threat particularly to the US that was its only barrier towards establishing its dominance in the world. Had the NSC not made the above recommendations, it would be possible that the Soviet bloc would have established its dominance at the greatest world power. This would lead to the continued expansion of communism power in the world. Nevertheless, these recommendations are believed to be the main cause of the Cold War that followed swiftly.
References
National Security Council (1950) Paper Number 68 . From Foreign Relations of the United States. (Washington DC: US Government Printing Office, 1977), 235-92.
