ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the national security decisionmaking process in the United States, as embodied in the National Security Council. The most highly developed formal system for national security decisionmaking is, no doubt, that of the United States. The heart of the American system is the National Security Council (NSC). The basic legal foundation of the NSC and the entire American national security decisionmaking process is the National Security Act of 1947, as amended over the years. In-depth analysis of the development and functioning of the NSC over the years demonstrates that the NSC is, in effect, a three-dimensional structure, serving three different and unique decisionmaking functions and needs. President John Kennedy instituted major changes in the functioning of the NSC and its staff. Various administrations have differed in the relative emphasis placed on the various functions of the NSC staff.
