'NSC-68': The Blueprint for Permanent War [Socialist History: [S1 Episode 3]

Description

Most empires never write their plans down, but the American empire did. In 1950 a top-secret government document called NSC-68 laid out the blueprint for permanent war: a militarized economy, a nuclear buildup without limit, and a posture of global confrontation that would outlast the men who wrote it. It is the founding doctrine beneath every operation in this series. In this episode we take a deep dive into how NSC-68 was written and by whom, and its role in shaping the trillion-dollar war economy still running today. This is part of the first season of Socialist History, our new series on The Socialist Program. In each episode we unpack a different CIA or Pentagon operation or document that shaped US imperialism. Join The Socialist Program community at https://www.patreon.com/thesocialistprogram to get access to the next episodes in this series, more exclusive content, and help keep this show on the air. Archival notes: 0:10 - Alex Jones, host of Infowars (2017) 0:16 - Pres. Donald Trump speaking at a rally (2018) 2:13 - Pres. Harry S. Truman speaking at his inauguration. Includes newsreel narrator voiceover (1949) 3:40 - Interview with Paul H. Nitze, former US government official and author of NSC-68 (1996) 6:03 - US Army documentary on the end of World War II, narrator voiceover (1945) 6:44 - Gen. Douglas MacArthur speaking at the signing of Japan’s surrender in World War II. Includes newsreel narrator voiceover (1945) 8:04 - Newsreel on soldiers returning home at the end of World War II, including narrator voiceover and source audio (1945) 10:24 - Pres. Franklin Roosevelt addresses Congress on World War II (1943) 11:06 - Newsreel on Soviet heroism in World War II, narrator voiceover (1942) 11:25 - Newsreel on the formation of the United Nations, narrator voiceover (1945) 11:49 - Newsreel on the formation of the International Monetary Fund, narrator voiceover (1944) 12:29 - Newsreel on the bombing of Dresden in World War II, narrator voiceover (1945) 14:39 - Newsreel on US industrial transit