entity

National Security Council

Also known as: NSC

Entities (3)

Central Intelligence Agency

Central Intelligence Agency

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and National Security Council (NSC) are closely related as both were formally created by the National Security Act of 1947 [1], with the NSC issuing directives authorizing the CIA's operational and analytical functions [2][3] and coordinating intelligence activities involving the CIA [4][5]. — 12 supporting facts

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American Central Intelligence Agency

American Central Intelligence Agency

The American Central Intelligence Agency and the United States National Security Council are linked as key national security institutions established by the U.S. government in 1947 [1], [2]. Furthermore, they maintain an operational relationship through intelligence sharing [3] and the professional mobility of analysts who serve in both organizations [4]. — 4 supporting facts

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Iraq

Iraq

The United States National Security Council actively engaged in policy decisions and strategic assessments regarding Iraq, including rejecting an Iraqi withdrawal offer [1], estimating potential combat casualties in a conflict with Iraq [2], and analyzing Iraq's role in post-Cold War military spending [3]. — 3 supporting facts

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Facts (28)

Sources

The Evolution of the U.S. Intelligence Community-An Historical ... govinfo.gov U.S. Government Publishing Office 21 facts

claimIn 1955, the National Security Council reissued its 1948 directive on covert action, reemphasizing that the CIA held the responsibility for implementing peacetime foreign policy objectives.

accountAllen Dulles, William Jackson, and Matthias Correa, three New York lawyers with experience in intelligence, submitted a highly critical report on the CIA to the National Security Council in January 1949.

claimThe Second Hoover Commission identified the NSC, CIA, NSA, FBI, Department of State, Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Atomic Energy Commission as members of the U.S. intelligence community in 1955.

claimSidney Souers proposed the creation of the National Security Council and the CIA in a 1945 report to Navy Secretary Forrestal.

accountIn January 1948, the National Security Council, under Executive Secretary Sidney Souers, asked three private citizens—Allen Dulles, William Jackson, and Matthias Correa—to examine the CIA's structure, administration, activities, and interagency relations.

claimIn 1958, the National Security Council issued directives that detailed the mission and authority of the National Security Agency under the Secretary of Defense.

claimThe Central Intelligence Agency was authorized to perform services of common concern to other intelligence agencies and other intelligence-related functions as directed by the National Security Council.

referenceThe National Security Council accepted the basic findings of the 1949 Dulles-Jackson-Correa report, which concluded that the CIA was not coordinating intelligence activities in the government, correlation and evaluation functions were not well organized, other members of the Intelligence Community were not fully included in the estimates process, and the DCI lacked sufficient day-to-day contact with the work of the CIA.

accountThe Iran-Contra operation was initiated by National Security Council (NSC) staff and executed with the assistance of officers from the CIA and the Defense Department, following a retroactive covert action finding signed by President Ronald Reagan in January 1986 that was not reported to Congress.

claimThe National Security Council (NSC) was proposed to coordinate civilian and military national security policy for the President, while the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was proposed to coordinate national security intelligence.

claimExecutive Order 11905 established a Committee on Foreign Intelligence within the National Security Council, chaired by the Director of Central Intelligence, to serve as the focal point for intelligence policy and resource allocation.

referenceA study commissioned by Navy Secretary James Forrestal and chaired by private businessman Ferdinand Eberstadt recommended coordinating intelligence through the establishment of a National Security Council (NSC) and a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

accountLawrence Walsh was appointed as special prosecutor in January 1987 to investigate the Iran-Contra affair and pursued the investigation for almost seven years, bringing criminal prosecutions against key NSC figures, some CIA employees, and a former Secretary of Defense.

accountNSC staff members involved in the Iran arms sales overcharged the Iranian government for weapons and diverted the proceeds to support the Contras, an anti-Communist rebel group in Nicaragua, at a time when such assistance was prohibited by law.

referenceThe members of the Committee on Foreign Intelligence (CFI) included the Deputy Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and the Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, with the committee reporting directly to the National Security Council (NSC).

accountThe U.S. government considered initiating psychological warfare operations overseas to counter Soviet expansionism, but the National Security Council initially preferred that the State Department, rather than the CIA, be responsible for them.

claimSidney Souers served as the Executive Secretary of the National Security Council (NSC) from 1947 to 1950.

claimExecutive Order 12333 established a new National Security Council (NSC) structure for reviewing intelligence activities, including covert actions.

claimThe National Security Act of 1947 created the National Security Council to coordinate national security policy.

claimThe National Security Council issued directives in 1947 and 1948 that provided specific authority for the Central Intelligence Agency's operational and analytical functions.

accountNavy Secretary James Forrestal successfully argued against the proposal to make the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) a member of the National Security Council, claiming the Council would be too large to function effectively and that the DCI would have sufficient access without formal membership.

History of the Central Intelligence Agency - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org Wikipedia 6 facts

claimThe Office of Policy Coordination (OPC), led by Frank Wisner, operated with a unique structure where it answered to the secretaries of defense, state, and the National Security Council rather than the CIA director.

claimThe National Security Advisor is a permanent member of the National Security Council and is responsible for briefing the President with information collected by all 16 U.S. intelligence agencies, including the National Security Agency and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

quoteDoug MacEachin, the Central Intelligence Agency's Chief of Soviet analysis, stated that even if the agency had informed the President, the National Security Council, and Congress about the Soviet troop cuts beforehand, the information would have been ignored.

referenceOn June 18, 1948, the National Security Council issued Directive 10/2, which authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations against hostile foreign states or groups, or in support of friendly foreign states or groups, in a manner that allowed the U.S. government to plausibly deny responsibility.

claimThe National Security Act of 1947, which took effect on September 18, 1947, formally created the National Security Council and the Central Intelligence Agency.

claimA postmortem analysis conducted by Admiral Crowe, a member of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court, concluded that the National Security Council expected the Central Intelligence Agency to both make decisions and provide the intelligence upon which those decisions were based.

United States Foreign Intelligence Relationships everycrsreport.com EveryCRSReport.com May 15, 2019 1 fact

claimUnder ICD-403, the Director of National Intelligence may authorize disclosures or releases of classified intelligence requested by the National Security Council or under circumstances not otherwise provided for in policy, and serves as the final arbiter in resolving disputes regarding what can be disclosed or released.