Edited by Karl F. Inderfurth and Loch K. Johnson
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--are responsible
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 relations students.
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 the NSC 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 and the 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, Samuel Berger, 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 to improve the Council's performance. It is ideal for courses on the NSC, national security decision-making, and U.S. foreign
policy.
Figures
Preface
I. Origins
Editors' Introduction
1. Earnest R. May: The Development of Political-Military Consultation in the United States
2. Ferdinand Eberstadt: Postwar Organization for National Security
3. U. S. Congress: Legislative Debate on the National
Security Act of 1947
4. U. S. Congress: The National Security Act of 1947
II. Early Years
Editors' Introduction
5. Stanley L. Falk: The NSC Under Truman and Eisenhower
6. Fred I. Greenstein and Richard H. Immerman: Effective National Security Advising: Recovering the
Eisenhower Legacy
7. Henry M. Jackson: Forging a Strategy For Survival
8. Jackson Subcommittee: Organizing for National Security
III. Transformation
Editors' Introduction
9. McGeorge Bundy: Letter to Jackson Subcommittee
10. John P. Leacacos: Kissinger's
Apparat
11. Jimmy Carter: Presidential Directive/NSC-2
IV. The Modern NSC
Editors' Introduction
12. Vincent A. Auger: The National Security Council System After the Cold War
13. George W. Bush: National Security Presidential Directive 1
V. National Security
Advisers: Roles
Editors' Introduction
14. Woodrow Wilson International Center and Baker Institute: Forum on the Role of the National Security Adviser
15. Colin L. Powell: The NSC Adviser: Process Manager and More
16. Cecil V. Crabb, Jr. and Kevin V. Mulcahy: The Lessons of the
Iran-Contra Affair for National Security Policy Making
VI. National Security Advisers: Profiles
Editors' Introduction
17. Kai Bird: McGeorge Bundy
18. Marvin Kalb and Bernard Kalb: Henry Kissinger
19. Dom Bonafede: Zbigniew Brzezinski
20. David Lauter: Brent
Scowcroft
21. R.W. Apple, Jr.: Samuel R. Berger
22. Elaine Sciolino: Condoleezza Rice
VII. Performance
Editors' Introduction
23. The Cuban Missile Crisis:
24. George H. W. Bush and Brent Scowcroft: The Transition from the Cold War
25. Eric Moskowitz and Jeffrey S.
Lantis: Conflict in the Balkans
26. Dan Balz and Bob Woodward: The War Against Terrorism
VIII. Controversies
Editors' Introduction
27. Bert A. Rockman: America's Departments of State
28. Tower Commission: The NSC Staff as Rogue Elephant
29. Inouye-Hamilton Committee:
Congress and the NSC
IX. Reforms
Editors' Introduction
30. Tower Commission: Recommendations on Organizing for National Security
31. Theodore C. Sorensen: The President and the Secretary of State
32. Ivo H. Daalder and I. M. Destler: A New NSC for a New
Administration
33. Hart-Rudman Report: Road Map for National Security: Imperative for Change
For Further Reading
Index
There are no Instructor/Student Resources available at this time.
Karl F. Inderfurth is at George Washington University. Loch K. Johnson is at University of Georgia.
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