The "Top of Policy Hill": President Eisenhower and the National Security Council

The pattern is now familiar: first, the news of a world crisis in Southeast Asia, Afghanistan, Iran, or the South Atlantic. Then comes the announcement from the White House that the president met with his National Security Council (NSC). For each of the eight presidents who have presided over the NSC, however, this announcement has meant something quite different. Since John F. Kennedy created the position of national security adviser, the announcement has often meant little more than a “media event.” As Walt Rostow followed McGeorge Bundy, Henry Kissinger replaced Rostow, and Zbigniew Brzezinski failed to practice the caution that he preached, the NSC increasingly came to symbolize the national security adviser and his staff. The dominance of the national security adviser also has permeated the literature on the White House national security process. Characteristically, articles, books, and even official studies briefly discuss the creation of the NSC and then concentrate almost exclusively on the post-Kennedy years.1