What did the declassified documents reveal?

From Declassified, this is an examination of a declassified N. S. A. record regarding U. S. intelligence on China and the defense of Taiwan. This document, a Top Secret letter, was issued on July thirty-first, nineteen-fifty, and is available at archive.org. This document was released by the National Security Agency as part of a historical collection on U. S. intelligence pertaining to China. It has been declassified in accordance with executive order one-three-five-two-six. The document begins: July thirty-first, nineteen-fifty. My dear Mr. Secretary: This refers to your letter to me of July twenty-ninth, nineteen-fifty on the recommendations of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the subject of Chinese Nationalist military action against Chinese Communist amphibious missions on the East China Coast. I believe that the issues involved are of such paramount importance as to demand our earliest opportunity. The recommendations of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are of the greatest importance and will be discussed. They bear on the decision by the President to use the Seventh Fleet to neutralize Formosa, which was announced by the President. It seems to me there are a number of seriously divergent views, considerations and recommendations among the various agencies of the government, including the Department of Defense and the Department of State, and possibly among the allied governments of the free world. The Joint Chiefs of Staff indicated that their presently available resources were inadequate to carry out their protective functions in the Formosa Strait if they should be called upon to carry out their protective functions in the Formosa Strait. When the Department of State concurred in the neutralization of Formosa on June twenty-sixth, announced on June twenty-seventh, we accepted on the basis that the neutralization could be carried out by the Seventh Fleet as envisaged in the President's statements. If that is not now our capability, it seems to me that we must consider the following three principal lines of action: One, take immediate steps to reinforce the Seventh Fleet as rapidly as possible to permit it to carry out its assigned task. Two, recognize and accept the risk of not being able to guarantee the neutralization of Formosa, with the possibility that Chinese forces on the mainland might attack Formosa, or that such an attack might be successfully met by available United States and Chinese Nationalist forces. Three, find a suitable way to relieve ourselves of a military commitment which is considered to be beyond our present capabilities. I am not here urging a change in any of these alternatives until we have had an opportunity to consider the matter together. From a foreign policy point of view, however, the first approach is by far the most desirable. With regard to mining operations, it would seem to be clearly within existing policy for the Chinese to mine areas essential to the defense of Nationalist-held islands off the coast of China…

Why was this case declassified?

This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked on this page so the citation chain is auditable.

Case File · ARCHIVE-003Declassified

Filed NOV 6 · 2026Runtime 1 min

NSA From Declassified, This Is An Examination Of A Declassified N.

U.S. public record · FOIAUpdated November 6, 2026

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From Declassified, this is an examination of a declassified N. S. A. record regarding U. S. intelligence on China and the defense of Taiwan. org. This document was released by the National Security Agency as part of a historical collection on U.

Date: NOV 6 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

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From Declassified, this is an examination of a declassified N. S. A. record regarding U. S. intelligence on China and the defense of Taiwan. This document, a Top Secret letter, was issued on July thirty-first, nineteen-fifty, and is available at archive.org. This document was released by the…

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What was NSA From Declassified, This Is An Examination Of A Declassified N. about?: From Declassified, this is an examination of a declassified N. S. A. record regarding U. S. intelligence on China and the defense of Taiwan. org. This document was released by the National Security Agency as part of a historical collection on U.
Why was this case declassified?: This material entered the public record through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. Storyflo narrates it directly from the public release.

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