United States National Security Council

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Meeting of the National Security Council on July 5, 2006 in the Situation Room

The United States National Security Council ( NSC , German  National Security Council of the United States ) is an advisory body on external security of the federal executive branch of the United States . The council chaired by the president plays a prominent role in the formulation and implementation of American foreign policy . The committee is often associated with serious influence and with its usual conference location, the Situation Room in the basement of the White House , which has been replicated as a prototype of a modern conference room in many Hollywood productions.

history

Shortly after its establishment, one of the first analyzes of the world situation had a resounding effect: In Memorandum No. 68 (better known as NSC 68) on April 14, 1950, the National Security Council recommended that the President massively increase spending on the military , to curb the worldwide influence of communism (so-called containment policy ). After much hesitation, Truman agreed to the recommendations after the start of the Korean War . The NSC 68 was one of the few recommendations for action by the National Security Council that are known to the public so far. The results of the deliberations and effects of the committee are mostly beyond the direct public knowledge.

Legal basis

At the initiative of then President Harry S. Truman , Congress founded the first National Security Council in July 1947 as one of several measures of the National Security Act , with Alben W. Barkley initially being the Vice President at the time. As part of amendments to the National Security Act, Congress subordinated the National Security Council to the Executive Office of the President.

The role and composition of the National Security Council are set out in Section 402 of Book 50 of the United States Code . The body serves to exchange information and messages between all authorities responsible for “ national security ”, so that the President can be advised by the body and cooperation can be coordinated. Apart from the importance that Truman wanted to give the body, due to its permanent staff it is considered an authority in the legal sense and is therefore constitutionally subject not only to the administration of the President, but to the budgeting competence and legitimation of the Congress .

The National Security Council acts due to its positioning at an intersection in the executive indirectly in drafting the National Security Strategy with, one since 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Act anchored, periodically published summary of perceived threats and maxims that the external security of the United States affect.

composition

According to the law, the following office holders were required as permanent members until the end of January 2017 for the existence of the body:

On January 28, 2017, Donald Trump rearranged the composition by decree, permanent members are now:

The President's administration is subject to the occasional addition of other members of the government if necessary. The addition of further members of the executive branch over a longer period of time or permanently requires the approval of the Senate . The chairman of the staff is the National Security Advisor , whose position has become one of the President's most important advisory functions over time.

The participation of the ambassadors of the United States in Iraq or the commanders of the Multi-National Force - Iraq during the occupation of Iraq can serve as an example of the periodic involvement of other members of the government .

As regular session participants of the National Security also have since the founding, the General Staff Chairman ( Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ) or the Deputy General Staff Chairman ( Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ), the director of national intelligence ( director of national intelligence ) and the finance minister crystallized. By decree, President Donald Trump decided on January 28, 2017 that the Chairman of the General Staff and the Director of the National Secret Services would no longer attend the meetings; his chief strategist Stephen Bannon and the chief of staff of the White House , Reince Priebus , were newly accepted. Bannon's appointment to the panel was reversed in April 2017, according to media reports.

Just like the composition, the law prescribes the permanent operation of two sub-directorates: first the “ Committee on Foreign Intelligence” and second the “ Committee on Transnational Threats” . In addition, the office of “ Special Adviser to the President on International Religious Freedom” is planned, the holder of which is supposed to actively advise and support numerous agencies and authorities in the assessment and enforcement of international freedom of conscience.

literature

Web links

Commons : United States National Security Council  - collection of images, videos, and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. above: Section 402. National Security Council , legal text. Accessed September 6th.
  2. National Security Presidential Memorandum 2. (PDF) The White House, January 28, 2017, accessed January 29, 2017 .
  3. cf. the brief description on the White House website.
  4. Kai Biermann: Stephen Bannon now also determines US foreign policy. In: time online. January 29, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2017 .
  5. brk: Bannon loses seat on the National Security Council. In: Spiegel online. April 5, 2017. Retrieved April 5, 2017 .