The White House National Security Council (NSC) is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for consideration of national security,military,and foreign policy matters with senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials,and is part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. Since its inception in 1947 during the administration of President Harry S. 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. The Council has counterparts in the national security councils of many other nations.
The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA),commonly referred to as the National Security Advisor (NSA),is a senior aide in the Executive Office of the President,based at the West Wing of the White House. The National Security Advisor serves as the principal advisor to the President of the United States on all national security issues. The National Security Advisor is appointed by the President and does not require confirmation by the United States Senate. However,an appointment of a three- or four-star General to the role requires Senate reconfirmation of military rank.
The United States National Security council was established following the coordination of the foreign policy system in the United States in 1947 under the National Security Act of 1947. An administrative agency guiding national security issues was found to be needed since world war II. The national Security Act of 1947 provides the council with powers of setting up and adjusting foreign policies and reconcile diplomatic and military establishments. It established a Secretary of Defence,a National Military Establishment which serves as central intelligence agency and a National Security Resources Board. The specific structure of the United States National Security Council can be different depending on the elected party of the time. Different party emphasize on different aspects of policy making and administrating.
The Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) was the head of the American Central Intelligence Agency from 1946 to 2005,acting as the principal intelligence advisor to the President of the United States and the United States National Security Council,as well as the coordinator of intelligence activities among and between the various U.S. intelligence agencies.
The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) is a senior,cabinet-level United States government official,required by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 to serve as executive head of the United States Intelligence Community (IC) and to direct and oversee the National Intelligence Program (NIP). The DNI also serves,upon invitation,as an advisor to the President of the United States and the executive offices of the National Security Council and the Homeland Security Council about all intelligence matters. The DNI,supported by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI),produces the President's Daily Brief (PDB),a top-secret document including intelligence from all IC agencies,given each morning to the President.
John Michael McConnell is a former vice admiral in the United States Navy. During his naval career he served as Director of the National Security Agency from 1992 to 1996. His civilian career includes serving as the United States Director of National Intelligence from 20 February 2007 to 27 January 2009 during the Bush administration and also seven days of the Obama administration. He is currently Vice Chairman at Booz Allen Hamilton.
The United States Intelligence Community (IC) is a group of separate United States government intelligence agencies and subordinate organizations,that work separately and together to conduct intelligence activities to support the foreign policy and national security of the United States. Member organizations of the IC include intelligence agencies,military intelligence,and civilian intelligence and analysis offices within federal executive departments.
The Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) is an intelligence agency in the United States Department of State. Its central mission is to provide all-source intelligence and analysis in support of U.S. diplomacy and foreign policy. INR is the oldest civilian element of the U.S. Intelligence Community and among the smallest,with roughly 300 personnel. Though lacking the resources and technology of other U.S. intelligence agencies,it is "one of the most highly regarded" for the quality of its work.
The director of the Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA) is a statutory office that functions as the head of the Central Intelligence Agency,which in turn is a part of the United States Intelligence Community.
The Directorate of Operations (DO),less formally called the Clandestine Service,is a component of the US Central Intelligence Agency. It was known as the Directorate of Plans from 1951 to 1973;as the Directorate of Operations from 1973 to 2005;and as the National Clandestine Service (NCS) from 2005 to 2015.
The under secretary of defense for intelligence &security or USD(I&S) is a high-ranking civilian position in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) within the U.S. Department of Defense that acts as the principal civilian advisor and deputy to the secretary of defense and deputy secretary of defense on matters relating to military intelligence &security. The under secretary is appointed as a civilian by the president and confirmed by the Senate to serve at the pleasure of the president.
Lieutenant General Ronald Lee Burgess Jr.,United States Army is a retired United States Army Lieutenant General. His last military assignment was as the 17th Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and Commander of the Joint Functional Component Command for Intelligence,Surveillance and Reconnaissance (JFCC-ISR). Prior to that,he was Director of the Intelligence Staff in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
The Operations Coordinating Board (OCB) was a committee of the United States Executive created in 1953 by President Eisenhower's Executive Order 10483 and tasked with oversight of United States covert operations. Eisenhower simultaneously gave secret instructions specifying additional functions for the new entity. The board,which reported to the National Security Council was responsible for integrating the implementation of national security policies across several agencies. An important part of its mandate was to act as the president's coordinating committee for the most incendiary secret foreign policy actions,such as covert operations.
The Dulles–Jackson–Correa Report was one of the most influential evaluations of the functioning of the United States Intelligence Community,and in particular,the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The report focused primarily on the coordination and organization of the CIA and offered suggestions that refined the US intelligence effort in the early stages of the Cold War.
The Schlesinger Report,originally titled A Review of the Intelligence Community,was the product of a survey authorized by U.S. President Richard Nixon late in 1970. The objective of the survey was to identify and alleviate factors of ineffectiveness within the United States Intelligence Community (IC) organization,planning,and preparedness for future growth. The report,prepared by James Schlesinger,Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB),was submitted to Nixon on 10 March 1971.
The Boren-McCurdy intelligence reform proposals were two legislative proposals from Senator David Boren and Representative Dave McCurdy in 1992. Both pieces of legislation proposed the creation of a National Intelligence Director. Neither bill passed into law.
Stephen Brent Slick is a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operations officer and United States National Security Council official. He is the inaugural director of the Intelligence Studies Project at the University of Texas at Austin,where he is also a Clinical Professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and the Bobby R. Inman Chair in Intelligence Studies.
Ezra Asa Cohen-Watnick is an American intelligence official who served as the acting under secretary of defense for intelligence during the Trump Administration. He previously served as the acting assistant secretary of defense for special operations and low-intensity conflict,national security adviser to the United States attorney general and as a former senior director for intelligence programs for the United States National Security Council (NSC).
Earl G. Matthews is an American government official and attorney who held senior positions within the Department of the Army and at the White House during the administration of President Donald Trump. Matthews was a member of Trump's Department of Defense transition team and was appointed as a Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense,James N. Mattis on January 20,2017. Matthews was subsequently appointed as the Principal Deputy General Counsel of the Army on June 21,2019. He served as Acting General Counsel of the Army from June 21,2017 until James E. McPherson was sworn in as General Counsel on January 2,2018.
Kashyap Pramod Patel is an American attorney and former government official. He served as chief of staff to the Acting United States Secretary of Defense under President Donald Trump. Patel has worked at the United States National Security Council and United States House of Representatives and was previously a federal public defender,a federal prosecutor working on national security cases,and a legal liaison to the United States Armed Forces. He is a Republican. Patel has widely been described as a "Trump loyalist". As aide to Devin Nunes,Patel played a key role in helping Republican attempts to discredit the investigations into Donald Trump and Russian interference in the 2016 election.
