Author Question: Describe the development of the national security directive as a tool of policy change for ... (Read 67 times)

vHAUNG6011 · **on:** Jul 9, 2018

Describe the development of the national security directive as a tool of policy change for presidents, and assess its effects on presidential power. Provide specific examples.

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

In what way did Truman change his behavior following his rise to the presidency?

A) He relied on the St. Louis Democratic Party machine for policy proposals, foregoing his political independence.
B) He abandonedall the things that had previously defined him and made him successful as a politician.
C) He rehabilitated the poor relationship that he had with the Democratic leaders in Congress.
D) He deferred all policy initiatives to Congress in spite of his dislike of the institution.

jojobee318 · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 9, 2018

Answer to Question 1

The ideal answer should:
a. Discuss the historical development of the national security directive beginning with its emergence in the immediate aftermath of World War II as part of a larger process by Truman to centralize and expand the scope of military and intelligence-gathering agencies.
b.Describe how the passage of the National Security Act created the NSC and the CIA, including the clause that permitted the NSC to make recommendations to the president from time to time, which paved the way for use of the national security directive.
c.Evaluate the reasons why secrecy was chosen over transparency, even though members of Congress worried about oversight.
d. Assess the effects of the NSD on presidential powers, noting the unintended consequences of the National Security Act, which allowed Truman to turn NSC policy reports into official policy statements, and how Truman's successors formalized this process, including Kennedy's use of the NSD to suit his own purposes and Reagan's use of the NSD to violate the will of Congress and fund the Contras.
e.Note that the NSD, in part because of its secrecy, has greatly expanded presidential power at the expense of congressional oversight.

Answer to Question 2

B