Is National Security a wartime measure?

The National Security State was established under the 1947 National Security Act during the cold war. The National Security State was built upon an interest in protecting the territories and the people from potential attacks and threats. This concept of national security was expanded after the second world war. “The Truman Doctrine” set the beginning of the national security interests which were established by President Truman in face of the expanding communism. Therefore, national security issues have been made a daily concern of the government during the cold war. It was a strategic reaction to the cold war along with the containment policy which was designed for the sake of national defense and assessing international threats. They were merely defense policies in order to contain the threat deemed to be presented by international communism and also nuclear implementation.

However, a significant factor in the national security issue is the Soviet Army buildup which was seen as a great foreign threat. As a result of this emerging concept of national security, The Nevada Proving Ground, or The Nevada Test Site was founded. The site is a scientific workshop by outstanding scientists and the military that work on domestic testing of atomic weapons. Atomic tests were the only choice to ensure the nation’s national survival and defense. In order to keep the US atomic strength at the top level, testing new ideas and principles on weapons were vital. Atomic testing was the US guarantee of risk minimization. However, many view atomic testing as a threat to the nation in itself which led to the suppression of authentic information by the military and the government assuming that “secrecy becomes a crucial component”. The efforts to control nuclear information and the emergence of the cultures of secrecy have evolved ever since. Secrecy was viewed as a political and a strategic measure. The concept of the national security state has become broader over time and it still exists today to coordinate domestic and foreign policy under the national security council. The NSC was founded in 1947 to integrate  “domestic, foreign, and military policies relating to national security”. Even though the end of the cold war has been marked as a major change in national security interests, the basics of American national security remain intact. The NSC operates in the defense of the United States and its constitutional system, and it holds some internal and external content.