Dr. Tyrus W. Cobb, former Special Assistant to President Reagan for National Security Affairs, gave an interesting presentation to the NSF on the history of the NSC this week, titled: “Nerve Center of The White House”. The talk was billed as a “Pictorial History of the National Security Council”.
We are attaching Ty’s Powerpoint Presentation so that those of you who were unable to attend can review the briefing, and to enable those who were at the talk to be able to peruse the slides and charts in more depth.
The National Security Council has served as the nerve-center for directing American foreign, economic, and defense policy since its inception in 1947. The power of the NSC has ebbed and flowed over time depending on how the President chose to use it and often by the force of the individual serving as the National Security Advisor (NSA). Ty took us down Memory Lane as we looked at photos of the NSC over time. He talked about the influence of powerful advisors such as Henry Kissinger and Zbigniew Brzezinski and the often contentious rivalries between the NSA and the Secretaries of State and Defense.
We hope you enjoy this retrospective look back at Truman and Atcheson; Ike and Dulles; JFK and Mac Bundy; LBJ and Rostow; Nixon and Henry; Jimmy and Zbig; Reagan, George, Cap, Haig and Bud, Colin and the Admiral; Bush 41 and Brent, Baker and Cheney; Bubba and the guys; Bush 43 with Rummy, Cheney II, and Condi; and the Obama I and II teams. Ty also looked at the key players in the emerging Obama NSC and the potential impact Susan Rice will have as she assumes the post of National Security Advisor.
Enjoy!
Download the Powerpoint Presentation (12mb)