ing it should function as an agent of the State Department and the
military. Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) Roscoe Hil-
lenkoetteracceded to this view, so long as he was informed of all im-
portant projects and decisions. According to some experts, NSC 10/2
was essentially a treaty between the secretaries of state and defense
that gave the OPC two competing masters. National Security Coun-
cil 68 (NSC 68) eventually superceded NSC 10/2.NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL 68 (NSC 68). NSC 68 was a
National Security Council(NSC) document produced in April 1950
that defined the course of American foreign policy during the Cold
War. President Harry S. Trumanasked for an intensive examina-
tion of Soviet military capabilities and intentions in the immediate af-
termath of the communist takeover of China and the Soviet test of its
atomic bomb in the fall of 1949. The resulting study compared the
two powers—the United States and the Soviet Union—from mili-
tary, economic, political, and psychological standpoints. The study
defined American national interests largely in moral terms, arguing
that America’s strategic objectives were morally worthy. However, it
identified Soviet interests primarily as retaining and solidifying ab-
solute power, both in the Soviet Unionitself and in its satellite coun-
tries. It asserted that the Cold War was a real war and envisaged the
contest between the U.S. and the USSRas one of ideas, in which
American fundamental values must dominate. This could be done,
according to the document, by enhancing American military readi-
ness and taking actions to foster fundamental change in the nature of
the Soviet System. Nuclear war being unacceptable, it advocated a
variety of actions to boost American security at home and through bi-
lateral and multilateral negotiations. It also advocated undermining
Soviet state power structures by implementing an affirmative pro-
gram of diplomacy, covert action, and military actions. See also
CONTAINMENTPOLICY.NATIONAL SECURITY DECISION DIRECTIVE (NSDD).NSDDs
were policy instructions and guidance issued to the foreign policy and
national security agencies during the Ronald Reaganadministration.
See alsoNATIONALSECURITYDIRECTIVE; NATIONALSECU-
RITYPRESIDENTIALDIRECTIVE; PRESIDENTIALDECISION
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