Editorial Note
The Staff of the National Security Council, on December 23, prepared a draft report entitled “The Position of the United States with Respect to Asia”. The report, numbered NSC 48/1, was prepared with the advice and assistance of representatives of the Secretaries of State and Defense and of other high officials of the United States Government. Parts of the paper dealt with the political, economic, and security interests of the United States in South Asia. The text of the report is printed in Department of Defense, United States–Vietnam Relations, 1945–1967 (Washington, Government Printing Office, 1971), Book 8, page 226.
[Page 49]The National Security Council discussed the draft report and, on December 30, sent to President Truman a report identified as NSC 48/2, bearing the same title as the draft report and consisting solely of the conclusions of NSC 48/1, as amended and approved by the Council. The text of NSC 48/2 is printed in volume VII, Part 2, page 1215.