National Security Act of 1947 Page 1 of 1

U.S. DEPARTMENT of STATE

National Security Act of 1947

The National Security Act of 1947 mandated a major reorganization of the foreign policy and
military establishments of the U.S. Government. The act created many of the institutions that
Presidents found useful when formulating and implementing foreign policy, including the National
Security Council (NSC). The Council itself included the President, Vice President, Secretary of
State, Secretary of Defense, and other members (such as the Director of the Central Intelligence
Agency), who met at the White House to discuss both long-term problems and more immediate
national security crises. A small NSC staff was hired to coordinate foreign policy materials from
other agencies for the President. Beginning in 1953 the President's Assistant for National Security
Affairs directed this staff. Each President has accorded the NSC with different degrees of
importance and has given the NSC staff varying levels of autonomy and influence over other
agencies such as the Departments of State and Defense. President Dwight D. Eisenhower, for
example, used the NSC meetings to make key foreign policy decisions, while John F. Kennedy and
Lyndon B. Johnson preferred to work more informally through trusted associates. Under President
Richard M. Nixon, the NSC staff, then headed by Henry A. Kissinger, was transformed from a
coordinating body into an organization that actively engaged in negotiations with foreign leaders
and implementing the President's decisions. The NSC meetings themselves, however, were
infrequent and merely confirmed decisions already agreed upon by Nixon and Kissinger.

The act also established the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which grew out of World War II era Office of
Strategic Services and small post-war intelligence organizations. The CIA served as the primary civilian
intelligence-gathering organization in the government. Later, the Defense Intelligence Agency became the
main military intelligence body. The 1947 law also caused far-reaching changes in the military establishment.
The War Department and Navy Department merged into a single Department of Defense under the Secretary
of Defense, who also directed the newly created Department of the Air Force. However, each of the three
branches maintained their own service secretaries. In 1949 the act was amended to give the Secretary of
Defense more power over the individual services and their secretaries.

Additional Reading:

• Michael H. Hogan, A Cross of Iron: Harry S Truman and the Origins of the National Security State,
1945-1954 (Cambridge, 1998).
• Melvyn A. Leffler, A Preponderance of Power; National Security, The Truman Administration, and the
Cold War (Stanford, Connecticut, 1992).
• U.S. Department of State, Foreign Relations of the United States, 1945-1950, Emergence of the
LnteJiigence_Estab|ishn]ent (Washington, 1996)

http://www.state.gOv/r/pa/ho/time/cwr/17603pf.htm 12/26/2003
PDD-39 U.S. Policy on Counterterrorism Page 1 of 11

|Presidential.Decision_DirectiYes^^DDl

THE WHITE HOUSE

WASHINGTON
June 21,1995

MEMORANDUM FOR THE VICE PRESIDENT

THE SECRETARY OF STATE
THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY
ADMINISTRATOR, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR NATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS
DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
DIRECTOR, UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY
CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF
DIRECTOR, FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
DIRECTOR, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY

SUBJECT: U.S. Policy on Counterterrorism (U)

It is the policy of the United States to deter, defeat and respond vigorously to all terrorist attacks on our
territory and against our citizens, or facilities, whether they occur domestically, in international waters
or airspace or on foreign territory. The United States regards all such terrorism as a potential threat to
national security as well as a criminal act and will apply all appropriate means to combat it. In doing so,
the U.S. shall pursue vigorously efforts to deter and preempt, apprehend and prosecute, or assist other
governments to prosecute, individuals who perpetrate or plan to perpetrate such attacks. (U)

We shall work closely with friendly governments in carrying out our Counterterrorism policy and will
support Allied and friendly governments in combating terrorist threats against them. (U)

Furthermore, the United States shall seek to identify groups or states that sponsor or support such
terrorists, isolate them and extract a heavy price for their actions. (U)

http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/pdd39.htm 2/6/2004
 Page 1 of 1

SYSTEM Zi
THI*K,« House UNCLASSIFIED^;
WASH |

\'«r»fre*

THE NATIONAL PROGRAM TOP COKBATTIKG TERRORISM (jC

The Vice President's Task Force on Co-jribattir.g Terrorism has

completed an in-depth review o£ our current policies, capabilities,
and resources for dealing with the terrorist threat. I have
reviewed the Task force Report and accompanying recommendations
and concluded that our strategy is sound. I have determined that
we must enhance our ability to confront this throat and to do so
without compromising our basic democratic and human values. JJ*)
Terrorists undertake criminal acts that involve the use or threat
of violence against innocent persons. These acts are premeditated,
intended to achieve a political objective through coercion or
intimidation of an audience beycnd the irimediate victims. U.S.
citizens and installations, especially abroad, are increasingly
being targeted for terrorist acts, our policy, programs and'
responses must be effective in ameliorating this threat to our
people, property and interests. (jA
Policy
U.S. policy on terrorism is unequivocal: firm opposition to
terrorism in all its forrcs whether it is domestic terror!sn
perpetrated within U.S. territory, or international terrorism
conducted inside or outside U.S. territory by foreign nationals
or groups. The policy is based upon the conviction that to
accede to terrorist demands places more nKtcrican citizens at
risk. This no-concessions policy is the best way of protecting
the greatest number of people and ensuring their safety. At the
same tirr.e, every available resource will be used to gain the safe
return of American citizens who are held hostage by terrorists.
<w
The U.S. Government considers the practice of terrorism by any
person or group a potential threat to our national security and
will resist the use of terrorism by all leccl means available.
The United States is opposed to domestic and international
terrorism and is prepared to act in concert with other nations or
unilaterally when necessary to prevent or respond to terrorist
acts.

-W-SEGRH
UNCLASSIFIED

http://www.fas.org/irp/offdocs/nsdd/23-2715a.gif 8/27/2003
History of the National Security Council (1947-1997) Page 1 of22

t * Mfae President * History & Tows * First Lady*]

YOUR GOVERNMENT KSDS SITE

The White House

o E O"o F W BUSH
HOME EMAIL UPDATES
Home > Government > National Security Council > History of the NSC Biograr.
Government Condol
Connections
• President Bush's History of the National Security Council, 1947-1997 History
Cabinet
• Citizens' Handbook 1997
• Federal Agencies & Contents
Commissions
• Federal Statistics
Summary
Truman Administration, 1947-1953
Appointments Eisenhower Administration, 1953-1961
• Application Kennedy Administration, 1961-1963
• Nominations Johnson Administration, 1963-1969
Nixon Administration, 1969-1974
Ford Administration, 1974-1977
Carter Administration, 1977-1981
"flRSTGOV Reagan Administration, 1981-1989
Bush Administration, 1989-1992
• Search U.S. Clinton Administration, 1993-1997
Government Web Sites Appendix: Assistants to the President for National Security Affairs 1953-1997

Summary
connections
Since the end of World War II, each administration has sought to develop and perfect
a reliable set of executive institutions to manage national security policy. Each
Policies in Focus President has tried to avoid the problems and deficiencies of his predecessors' efforts
«Medicare
• Iraq
and install a policy-making and coordination system that reflected his personal
• National Security management style. The National Security Council (NSC) has been at the center of
• Economic Security this foreign policy coordination system, but it has changed many times to conform
• Homeland Security
«More Issues
with the needs and inclinations of each succeeding chief executive.
• En Espanol
The National Security Act of July 26,1947, created the National Security Council
News & Features under the chairmanship of the President, with the Secretaries of State and Defense
« Current News as its key members, to coordinate foreign policy and defense policy, and to reconcile
• Kids Only
• Tee-ball diplomatic and military commitments and requirements. This major legislation also
• Photo Essays provided for a Secretary of Defense, a National Military Establishment, Central
Intelligence Agency, and National Security Resources Board. The view that the NSC
had been created to coordinate political and military questions quickly gave way to
the understanding that the NSC existed to serve the President alone. The view that
the Council's role was to foster collegiality among departments also gave way to the
need by successive Presidents to use the Council as a means of controlling and
managing competing departments.

The structure and functioning of the NSC depended in no small degree upon the
interpersonal chemistry between the President and his principal advisers and
department heads. But despite the relationships between individuals, a satisfactory
organizational structure had to be developed, for without it the necessary flow of
information and implementation of decisions could not occur. Although a permanent
staff gradually began to take shape, the main substantive work occurred in the
departments.

President Truman's NSC was dominated by the Department of State. President

Eisenhower's predilection for the military staff system, however, led to development of
the NSC along those lines. The NSC staff coordinated an elaborate structure for
monitoring the implementation of policies. The NSC's Executive Secretary became an
assistant to the President, but was sufficiently self-effacing not to conflict with a
powerful Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/history.html 12/26/2003
.——-"'National Security Council Page 1 of2

The White House

XV £ ,_. S H
HOME EMAIL UPDATES
• President Bush's Home > Government > National Security Council Biograp
Cabinet Condol
• Citizens' Handbook
• Federal Agencies & Establishment of the National Security Council
Commissions History
The National Security Council was established 1997
• Federal Statistics
by the National Security Act of 1947 (PL 235 -
61 Stat. 496; U.S.C. 402), amended by the
Appointments National Security Act Amendments of 1949 (63
• Application
• Nominations Stat. 579; 50 U.S.C. 401 et seq.). Later in 1949,
as part of the Reorganization Plan, the Council
was placed in the Executive Office of the
"flRSTGQV
»VfMaMft*>M.«HIMMI
President.
• Search U.S.
Membership of the National Security
Government Web Sites
Council
Policies in Focus The National Security Council is chaired by the
• Medicare
• Iraq President. Its regular attendees (both statutory
• National Security and non-statutory) are the Vice President, the
• Economic Security Secretary of State, the Secretary of the
• Homeland Security
• More Issues
Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, and the
• En Espanol Assistant to the President for National Security
Affairs. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
News & Features Staff is the statutory military advisor to the
• Current News Council, and the Director of Central Intelligence
• Kids Only is the intelligence advisor. The Chief of Staff to
• Tee-ball
• Photo Essays
the President, Counsel to the President, and Official portrait of National Security Advisor
the Assistant to the President for Economic Dr. Condoleezza Rice
Policy are invited to attend any NSC meeting.
The Attorney General and the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget are invited to President Condemns Terrorist Attacks in
attend meetings pertaining to their Turkey (11/15/03)
responsibilities. The heads of other executive Dr. Rice's Comments to Chicago Council
departments and agencies, as well as other on Foreign Relations (10/8/03)
senior officials, are invited to attend meetings of
Dr. Rice Briefing on President's Visit to
the NSC when appropriate. UN General Assembly (9/22/03)

National Security Advisor Condoleezza

National Security Council's Function
The National Security Council is the President's
principal forum for considering national security
and foreign policy matters with his senior
national security advisors and cabinet officials.
Since its inception under President Truman, the
function of the Council has been to advise and
assist the President on national security and
foreign policies. The Council also serves as the
President's principal arm for coordinating these
policies among various government agencies.
Rice Remarks to Veterans of Foreign
Wars (8/25/03)
National Security Advisor Condoleezza
Rice Interview with ZDF German
Television (7/31/03)
National Security Advisor Condoleezza
Rice Discusses Iraq (7/30/03)
Countering "Dirty Bomb" Threat Fact
Sheet (6/2/03)
Aviation Security Fact Sheet (6/2/03)

Stopping Spread of WMD Fact Sheet

(6/2/03)

National Policy on Ballistic Missile

Defense Fact Sheet (5/20/03)

President Bush Vows to Bring Terrorists

http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/ 12/26/2003
Sec. 103 NATIONAL SECURITY ACT OF 1947 14
nity for purposes of representing the views of the intelligence com-
munity within the Government.
(4) Subject to the direction and control of the Director of Cen-
tral Intelligence, the Council may carry out its responsibilities
under this subsection by contract, including contracts for sub-
stantive experts necessary to assist the Council with particular
assessments under this subsection.
(5) The Director shall make available to the Council such staff
as may be necessary to permit the Council to carry out its respon-
sibilities under this subsection and shall take appropriate meas-
ures to ensure that the Council and its staff satisfy the needs of
policymaking officials and other consumers of intelligence. The
Council shall also be readily accessible to policymaking officials
and other appropriate individuals not otherwise associated with the
intelligence community.
(6) The heads of elements within the intelligence community
shall, as appropriate, furnish such support to the Council, includ-
ing the preparation of intelligence analyses, as may be required by
the Director.
(c) HEAD OF THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.—In the Director's
capacity as head of the intelligence community, the Director shall—
(1) facilitate the development of an annual budget for
intelligence and intelligence-related activities of the United
States by—
(A) developing and presenting to the President an an-
nual budget for the National Foreign Intelligence Program;
and
(B) participating in the development by the Secretary
of Defense of the annual budgets for the Joint Military
Intelligence Program and the Tactical Intelligence and Re-
lated Activities Program;
(2) establish the requirements and priorities to govern the
collection of national intelligence by elements of the intel-
ligence community;
(3) approve collection requirements, determine collection
priorities, and resolve conflicts in collection priorities levied on
national collection assets, except as otherwise agreed with the
Secretary of Defense pursuant to the direction of the President;
(4) promote and evaluate the utility of national intelligence
to consumers within the Government;
(5) eliminate waste and unnecessary duplication within
the intelligence community;
(6) protect intelligence sources and methods from unau-
thorized disclosure; and
(7) perform such other functions as the President or the
National Security Council may direct.
(d) HEAD OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY.—In the
Director's capacity as head of the Central Intelligence Agency, the
Director shall—
(1) collect intelligence through human sources and by other
appropriate means, except that the Agency shall have no po-
lice, subpoena, or law enforcement powers or internal security
functions;
15 NATIONAL SECURITY ACT OF 1947 Sec. 104
(2) provide overall direction for the collection of national
intelligence through human sources by elements of the intel-
ligence community authorized to undertake such collection
and, in coordination with other agencies of the Government
which are authorized to undertake such collection, ensure that
the most effective use is made of resources and that the risks
to the United States and those involved in such collection are
minimized;
(3) correlate and evaluate intelligence related to the na-
tional security and provide appropriate dissemination of such
intelligence;
(4) perform such additional services as are of common con-
cern to the elements of the intelligence community, which serv-
ices the Director of Central Intelligence determines can be
more efficiently accomplished centrally; and
(5) perform such other functions and duties related to
intelligence affecting the national security as the President or
the National Security Council may direct.
AUTHORITIES OF THE DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
SEC. 104. [50 U.S.C. 403-4] (a) ACCESS TO INTELLIGENCE.—To
the extent recommended by the National Security Council and ap-
proved by the President, the Director of Central Intelligence shall
have access to all intelligence related to the national security which
is collected by any department, agency, or other entity of the
United States.
(b) APPROVAL OF BUDGETS.—The Director of Central Intel-
ligence shall provide guidance to elements of the intelligence com-
munity for the preparation of their annual budgets and shall ap-
prove such budgets before their incorporation in the National For-
eign Intelligence Program.
(c) ROLE OF DCI IN REPROGRAMMING.—No funds made avail-
able under the National Foreign Intelligence Program may be re-
programmed by any element of the intelligence community without
the prior approval of the Director of Central Intelligence except in
accordance with procedures issued by the Director. The Secretary
of Defense shall consult with the Director of Central Intelligence
before reprogramming funds made available under the Joint Mili-
tary Intelligence Program.
(d) TRANSFER OF FUNDS OR PERSONNEL WITHIN THE NATIONAL
FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE PROGRAM.—(1) In addition to any other
authorities available under law for such purposes, the Director of
Central Intelligence, with the approval of the Director of the Office
of Management and Budget, may transfer funds appropriated for
a program within the National Foreign Intelligence Program to an-
other such program and, in accordance with procedures to be devel-
oped by the Director and the heads of affected departments and
agencies, may transfer personnel authorized for an element of the
intelligence community to another such element for periods up to
a year.
(2) A transfer of funds or personnel may be made under this
subsection only if—
(A) the funds or personnel are being transferred to an ac-
tivity that is a higher priority intelligence activity;
Federal Register-Executive Order 12333 Page 1 of 18

Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration

Federal Register

Executive Order 12333-United States intelligence

activities
Source: The provisions of Executive Order 12333 of Dec. 4,1981, appear at 46 FR 59941, 3 CFR, 1981
Comp., p. 200, unless otherwise noted.

Table of Contents

Preamble

Part 1. Goals, Direction, Duties, and Responsibilities With Respect to the National
Intelligence Effort
1.1 Goals
1.2 The National Security Council
1.3 National Foreign Intelligence Advisory Groups
1.4 The Intelligence Community
L5_Director of Central Intelligence
1.6 Duties and Responsibilities of the Heads of Executive Branch Departments and
Agencies
LTJSenior Officials of the Intelligence Community
1.8 The Central Intelligence Agency
L9_The Department of State
1.10 The Department of the Treasury
1.11 The Department of Defense
1.12 Intelligence Components Utilized by the Secretary of Defense
L.I SLThe Department of Energy
1.14 The Federal Bureau of Investigation
Part 2. Conduct of Intelligence Activities
2.1 Need
2.2 Purpose
2.3 Collection of Information
2_ACollection Techniques
2J5_Attorney General Approval
2_JLAssistance to Law Enforcement Authorities
2.7 Contracting
Inconsistency With Other Laws
2.9 Undisclosed Participation in Organizations Within the United States
2.10 Human Experimentation
2.11 Prohibition on Assassination
2.12 Indirect Participation
Part 3. General Provisions
UJTongressional Oversight
3.2_Implementation
3.3 Procedures
3.4 Definitions
SJLPurpose and Effect

http://www.cia.gov/cia/information/eo 12333 .html 6/23/03

** TIME.com: Nation ~ The Nunn-Lugar Act: Old Fears, New Era Page 1 of 2

AM^ON'MORNING
with : :• ,^'MHKEJ
Bill Hemmer and
Soledad O'Brien PIFFEP

TIME
NATION
Monday, Oct. 01,2001

The Nunn-Lugar Act: Old Fears, New Era

When the Coid War ended, two Senators pieced together a plan
to divest the former USSR of its nuclear and chemical weapons.
Is it time to reprise Nunn-Lugar?
By JESSICA REAVES

Largely ignored in recent years and stripped of critical funding as recently

as July, the Nunn-Lugar Act, or "Cooperative Threat Reduction Program"
has garnered public attention since the September 11th attacks. Once
regarded as peripheral, the Nunn-Lugar now looks not only prescient but
absolutely essential.

Co-sponsored by Sam Nunn, former Democratic Senator from Georgia, and

Indiana Republican Richard Lugar, the Act was first approved in 1991 in
response to the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Designed to limit the
threat of suddenly itinerant weaponry, Nunn-Lugar established a fund to
pay for the identification, destruction and disposal of nuclear and chemical
weapons. The initiative also actively welcomed former Soviet scientists
into the American community, hoping to lure prospective bomb-makers
and chemical-mixers away from rogue nations.

Nunn and Lugar also co-sponsored the 1996 Nunn-Lugar-Domenici

Domestic Preparedness Initiative, which builds on the goals of the original
Nunn-Lugar Act and also trains civilians to assist disaster workers after an
attack by a weapon of mass destruction, including any biological agents.
According to press secretary Andy Fisher, Senator Lugar expects the
program to be rolled into the larger homeland defense effort headed by
former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge. Once again, Nunn and Lugar
were ahead of the curve.

Advocates of the program are quick to point out Nunn-Lugar's impressive

cost-benefit ratio: For slightly less than three-tenths of one percent of U.S.
military expenditures, Nunn-Lugar has been responsible for deactivating
5014 warheads, destroying 384 ICBMs and eliminating 365 ICBM silos.
And while Lugar a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, continues to lobby for funding for the program, the 2002
federal budget calls for cuts of about $140 million. That's quite a hit for an
initiative whose seven-year operating costs were only $3 billion — less
than the annual cost of missile defense research and development efforts.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/printout/0,8816,177183,00.html 12/24/2003