The U.S. national security policy document that called for a massive military buildup in 1950 was NSC-68. Its formal title was United States Objectives and Programs for National Security.
The 66-page top-secret report was drafted by a State Department–Defense Department study group chaired by Paul Nitze and presented to President Harry S. Truman on April 7, 1950. It portrayed the Soviet Union as an expanding global threat and argued that the United States needed much greater conventional and nuclear strength, increased aid to allies, and development of a hydrogen bomb.
NSC-68 initially faced resistance because Truman wanted to control defense spending. The outbreak of the Korean War in June 1950, however, gave its recommendations urgent political momentum. U.S. defense spending rose sharply between 1950 and 1953. NSC-68 was not itself a budget law or military order; it was a strategic blueprint that helped shape the militarization of the Cold War. It is distinct from later documents such as NSC-162/2.