Defensive Perimeter Strategy and NSC-68

    Cards (7)

    • What was the Defensive Perimeter Strategy?
      Policy introduced by Dean Acheson (US Secretary of State). Focused on the military security of the pacific and the policy that the USA should develop to ensure this. Identified areas in the US saw as critical for defence of US interests.
    • What areas were included in the Defensive Perimeter Strategy?
      Areas in the pacific. Ran from the Aleutian island in the North Pacific to the Philippines in the south.
    • Why was Acheson's defensive perimeter criticised?
      It omitted Korea and Taiwan. Some see it as a reason for the Korean War
    • When was the defensive perimeter strategy?
      January 1950
    • What was NSC-68?
      Aimed at stopping Soviet expansion. 58 page top secret policy paper by the US national security council. Declared that the USSR were intent on world domination. Stressed the urgency of building the USA's political, economic and military power.
    • What were the main aims of the NSC-68?
      - advocated increased taxes to fund a large military
      - advocated build up of American conventional and nuclear weapons
      - rejected preventative war; feared it would lead to Soviet retaliation
      - rejected isolation; feared it would leave Europe and Asia vulnerable to soviet expansion
    • When was the NSC-68 presented to President Truman?
      14th April 1950
    See similar decks