Fateful Decisions Inside the National Security Council

by Inderfurth, Karl F.; Johnson, Loch K.

• ISBN13: 9780195159660
• ISBN10: 0195159667
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-01-29
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The National Security Council (NSC) is the most important formal institution in the U.S. government for the creation and implementation of foreign and defense policy. The Council's four principal members--the President, Vice President, Secretary of State, and Secretary of Defense--areresponsible for incredibly far-reaching decisions regarding war and peace, diplomacy, international trade, and covert operations. Despite its obvious importance, the NSC has been subject to relatively little scholarly scrutiny, and therefore remains misunderstood by most international relationsstudents. Fateful Decisions: Inside the National Security Council provides students with valuable insights into the origins, workings, strengths, and weaknesses of the NSC. Covering the period from 1947 to 2003, Fateful Decisions features seminal articles, essays, and documents drawn from a variety of sources. The book presents and illuminates several obscure documents regarding the beginning of the NSC and its early years. It then examines the transformation of theNSC from a newly established, and initially ignored, advisory committee to the nation's premier forum for national security deliberations. The selections--written by prominent scholars, journalists, and practitioners--offer revealing coverage of major topics, such as key challenges to the NSC andthe role of the NSC in a post-Cold War environment. The articles also discuss the rise of the National Security Adviser to a position of prominence and provide profiles of those who have held the position, including McGeorge Bundy, Henry Kissinger, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Brent Scowcroft, SamuelBerger, Colin Powell, and Condoleezza Rice. Chronicling the performance of the NSC over the years, Fateful Decisions dissects both its successes and its failures--from the Cuban Missile Crisis through the Iran-contra affair, to the current war against global terrorism--and offers reform proposals toimprove the Council's performance. It is ideal for courses on the NSC, national security decision-making, and U.S. foreign policy.

Table of Contents

FIGURES	xi
PREFACE	xiii
I ORIGINS
Editors' Introduction	1	(6)
1 The Development of Political-Military Consultation in the United States.
Ernest R. May	7	(10)
2 Postwar Organization for National Security.
Ferdinand Eberstadt	17	(4)
3 Legislative Debate on the National Security Act of 1947.
U.S. Congress	21	(3)
4 The National Security Act of 1947.
U.S. Congress	24	(3)
II EARLY YEARS
Editors' Introduction	27	(8)
5 The NSC Under Truman and Eisenhower.
Stanley L. Falk	35	(11)
6 Effective National Security Advising: Recovering the Eisenhower Legacy.
Fred I. Greenstein and Richard H. Immerman	46	(7)
7 Forging A Strategy for Survival.
Henry M. Jackson	53	(4)
8 Organizing for National Security.
Jackson Subcommittee	57	(6)
III TRANSFORMATION
Editors' Introduction	63	(22)
9 Letter to Jackson Subcommittee.
McGeorge Bundy	81	(4)
10 Kissinger's Apparat.
John P. Leacacos	85	(9)
11 Presidential Directive/NSC-2.
Jimmy Carter	94	(3)
IV THE MODERN NSC
Editors' Introduction	97	(10)
12 The National Security Council System After the Cold War.
Vincent A. Auger	107	(17)
13 National Security Presidential Directive 1.
George W. Bush	124	(7)
V NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISERS: ROLES
Editors' Introduction	131	(10)
14 Forum on the Role of A National Security Adviser.
Woodrow Wilson International Center and Baker Institute	141	(17)
15 The NSC Advisor: Process Manager and More.
Colin L. Powell	158	(4)
16 The Lessons of the Iran-Contra Affair for National Security Policy Making.
Cecil V. Grabb, Jr. and Kevin V. Mulcahy	162	(11)
VI NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISERS: PROFILES
Editors' Introduction	173	(10)
17 McGeorge Bundy.
Kai Bird	183	(5)
18 Henry Kissinger.
Marvin Kalb and Bernard Kalb	188	(6)
19 Zbigniew Brzezinski.
Dom Bonafede	194	(9)
20 Brent Scowcroft.
David Lauter	203	(5)
21 Samuel R. Berger.
R.W. Apple, Jr.	208	(5)
22 Condoleezza Rice.
Elaine Sciolino	213	(4)
VII PERFORMANCE
Editors' Introduction	217	(16)
23 The Cuban Missile Crisis.
Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.	233	(3)
24 The Transition from the Cold War.
George H.W. Bush and Brent Scowcroft	236	(17)
25 Conflict in the Balkans.
Eric Moskowitz and Jeffrey S. Lantis	253	(15)
26 The War Against Terrorism.
Dan Balz and Bob Woodward	268	(15)
VIII CONTROVERSIES
Editors' Introduction	283	(6)
27 America's Departments of State.
Bert A. Rockman	289	(19)
28 The NSC Staff as Rogue Elephant.
Tower Commission	308	(8)
29 Congress and the NSC.
Inouye-Hamilton Committee	316	(19)
IX REFORMS
Editors' Introduction	335	(6)
30 Recommendations on Organizing for National Security.
Tower Commission	341	(7)
31 The President and the Secretary of State.
Theodore C. Sorensen	348	(10)
32 A New NSC for a New Administration.
Ivo H. Daalder and I.M. Destler	358	(7)
33 Road Map for National Security: Imperative for Change.
Hart-Rudman Report	365	(6)
FOR FURTHER READING	371	(4)
INDEX	375