The 2008 National Security Council Transition: Providing Continuity in a Bipartisan Environment

Perhaps the most important organizational and policy element of a contemporary presidential transition is the national security piece. The stakes involved in having a smooth organizational transition could not be higher. In fact, continuity in the knowledge of national security and foreign policy from one administration to the next is key to a safe and smooth transition in the post-9/11 world. The transition teams for President George W. Bush and President-elect Obama understood that. Since the creation of the National Security Council (NSC) in the National Security Act of 1947, the national security advisor has been a critical figure synthesizing military, intelligence, and foreign policy information for the president and his White House team. (1) In addition to demonstrating how a crucial area of transition planning is organized, the national security piece of a transition into the White House demonstrates some other important aspects of the passage of power. One can see how the most significant area of a presidential transition is fashioned and what the differences are between a transition out of office and one coming in. In viewing the preparations out of office made by President George W. Bush's National Security Advisor Stephen J. Hadley and his NSC staff, we see what the opportunities are for making a good exit and how it can be effectively done in a way that serves the interests of both administrations. We also see the not-so-easy questions that require an answer before the policy issues can be addressed as well as the organizational issues, including personnel matters, one has to deal with coming into the White House as head of the NSC staff. Steve Hadley was in an excellent position to run the NSC transition out of office because he understood well what past patterns of transition preparations were. He served on the NSC staffs of Presidents Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush as well as for a brief period in the Carter White House. The experiences of General James L. Jones, Jr., provide us with a sense of the stack of decisions the NSC advisor, or any senior White House official with organizational responsibilities, has to consider during the transition and in the early months of an administration. General Jones did not have previous White House experience, but he was well versed on foreign policy and military issues and dealt with national security officials in the Clinton and Bush administrations through his positions as commander of the U.S. European Command and as Supreme Commander Europe (SACEUR/EUCOM) and earlier as commandant of the Marine Corps. The outgoing administration is in a favorable position planning its transition out of office because there are few rules governing the terms on which it leaves. The incumbent president and his team have the choice of how much time to devote to the transition and the power to choose when to begin and what information to provide. As they do their planning, those in office have the advantage as well of having settled relationships with the incumbent president and the senior White House staff. In conjunction with the president, the national security advisor decides what information to provide. There is no downside to early preparation because providing assistance to the incoming administration, no matter the party, is in the national interest and also works to the advantage of the outgoing president. The information the NSC gathers for the incoming team works well for the legacy of the outgoing president because the materials provide a wrap-up of what the administration faced while in office and what the administration's responses were. When you are leaving office, you can work far ahead of time on preparing information with several purposes. You can make your own administration look good, make the president look good, and help the incoming national security advisor, which is a good government move. Aces all around for the team leaving. …