ABSTRACT
National Security Council (NSC)-68 and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) circumscribed Harry S. Truman's relationship with Wilsonian internationalism. NSC-68 made clear, that America's ideological and security concerns had to extend to the entire free world and that its drive to expand freedom had to extend beyond the iron curtain. The joining of NATO in 1949 was an important step in the drive to diminish that vulnerability. It was a watershed in American history. In December 1952, NATO adopted a resolution declaring that the French position in Indochina conformed with the aims of the Alliance and deserved members' support. Truman approved $30.5 million more for Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Defense assistance was to go to NATO, Greece, Korea and the Philippines. On October 6, 1949, Truman signed the "Mutual Defense Assistance Program" into law. Truman held up the Point Four Program as proof that the American drive for power and influence was indeed still tied to its best political traditions.
