National Security Council

The National Security Council (NSC) was created in 1947 by law for coordinating and implementing national security and foreign policy. By statute, the President. the Vice President, Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, Secretary of Energy, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Director of National Intelligence, and the Director of National Drug Control Policy are members. Beyond statutory requirements, each president is free to structure his administration as he sees fit. The White House Chief of Staff, White House Counsel, National Security Advisor, Director of Central Intelligence, Attorney General, Treasury Secretary, OMB Director, and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy have often been made members or invited to attend meetings.

The NSC and its staff now consists of a Principals Committee of decision makers, known as policymakers, and a Deputies Committee charged with analysis, recommendations, and implementation.

National Security staff

The National Security Council should not be confused with the National Security Council staff, which is a group of personal working inside the White House complex on the President's personal staff, each working as a laison with department and agency heads or specialized areas represented on the National Security Council. Staff members hold meetings round the clock, recieving real time information, bulletins, and analysis globally. The National Security Advisor is the head of the NSC staff. Staff members, because of their close proximity to the president, often take a more active part in formulating and shaping US strategic foreign and defense policy than the outside department and agency heads they represent.