-4-(cont.)

The present arrangements were developed by the McGeorge
Bundy staff of the Kennedy Administration and elaborated by the Rostow
staff of the Johnson Administration. Both of these staffs have differed
from President Eisenhower's staff in that they have focused on the
President's needs rather than on the operations of the NSC. The present
staff is also distinguished by the extent to which it operates outside the
constraints of the remainder of the process. The needs grew out of the
fact that two successive Presidents -- each for his own reasons -- deeply
involved themselves in the detailed direction of foreign affairs. Consequently,
with the exception of Vietnam-related activities -- work largely confined to
the Special Assistant plus two or three other staff members -- the NSC
staff concentrates very largely on foreign rather than military affairs.
Most of the activity described below is therefore a matter of White House-
State Department relations, except as noted.

- 5 -

The Elements of the Process

a. **The Special Assistant for National Security Affairs.** The present Special Assistant's mandate matches or exceeds that of any of his predecessors. His contact with the President is more frequent than that of any cabinet officer, and he and his staff sit astride and seek to coordinate the formal lines of information and advice to the President. He has both the first and last shot at bringing matters to the President's attention, and is usually the first to know the President's reactions. He is often the person first charged with meeting the President's requirements and carrying out his instructions; in the last two Administrations he has done so even at the expense of orderly procedure. While he does not have the executive responsibilities of cabinet officers, he is deeply involved in most matters which are of paramount importance to them. In present practice he is at the nerve center of the entire process.

The Special Assistant attends the Tuesday Lunch (see below), is present at all important meetings (formal and informal) with the President,

travels abroad with him, and often speaks for him to the rest of the
government. As the White House representative, he sits on the principal
formal interdepartmental committees, such as the Senior Interdepartmental
Group (SIG) and the 303 Committee, as well as *ad hoc* groups such as the
various Vietnam coordinating committees and the Middle East Task Force
of June 1967.

The following are offered here primarily as indicators of the
scope of the Special Assistant's operations:

- Oversees, coordinates and contributes to the President's
flow of basic information and intelligence;

- Performs a secretariat-type function in pro-
cessing the flow of paper to and from the President;

- Identifies matters involving the President's
interests and assures that they are receiving appropriate
attention and that his right of decision is protected;

- Monitors national security operations to assure

responsiveness and conformity to the President's
wishes;

- Acts in a close, personal sense as advisor to the
President and, together with his staff, provides
private, independent analysis of advice received by
the President from official and informal sources;

- Performs a variety of work generated by the
President and of a nature which, for reasons of
sensitivity or personal choice, the President does not
wish to be handled by his immediate official family,
e.g., highly secret correspondence with other
national leaders;

- Provides guidance to the White House Press Office
for dealing with questions on national security matters.

b. The Executive Secretary of the NSC

While the Special Assistant has no operating deputy, the Executive

Secretary comes closer to performing that function and fills in for him
in his rare absences. The Executive Secretary is limited in this role,
however, because he cannot possibly duplicate the personal advisory
relationship which the Special Assistant enjoys with the President.

While the importance of the formal NSC has diminished in recent
years, the Executive Secretary is still its executive officer. He
oversees the agenda and the preparations for Council meetings and
maintains the NSC records. However, the NSC staff, which on paper
works for him, is now under the direct supervision of the Special
Assistant. The title "NSC staff" is now a misnomer -- they are
"Presidential staff."

The diminution of this aspect of the Executive Secretary's role
has been more than offset by his involvement in the staffing and operational
activities of the Special Assistant and his oversight of the Situation Room.
There is a vast paper management job which flows around and through the
Special Assistant's complex and the Executive Secretary has, in the