Civilian National Security Infrastructure - White House Staff, National Security Council (nsc), U.s. Department Of States

At the apex of the U.S. federal government is the Constitution. (See Figure 8.1.) The Constitution gives the job of providing for America's national security to the president and the executive branch of the government, as well as to the legislative branch (the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate). It designates the president the commander in chief of the American armed forces. Executive branch entities involved in national security can be found at the White House level—for example, the White House Office, the National Security Council (NSC), and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)—and all the way down to the subcabinet/department, independent-agency level—for example, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Most responsibility for day-to-day national security matters falls to the executive branch of government.

This is not to say that the legislative branch plays a passive role in national security affairs. While key powers requiring strong central direction, such as treaty making, the appointing of ambassadors, and committing armed forces to conflicts, are given to the executive branch, exercising these powers requires the approval of the Senate. Also, Congress has its own powers related to defense and national security. These include the right to declare war; to raise armies, navies, and militias; to provide money for those forces; to authorize a draft (the pressing of individuals into mandatory military service); to make rules regulating the armed forces; to make all laws "necessary and proper" for carrying out the foregoing powers; and to provide advice and consent to the executive branch in foreign affairs—for example, approval of treaties that the executive branch has negotiated and its appointments of ambassadors, ministers, and other key officers of government.

Presidential powers, especially those relating to unilaterally declaring wars, were greatly questioned during the Vietnam era. In August 1964 President Lyndon Johnson had used an alleged attack by North Vietnam on the U.S. Navy in the Gulf of Tonkin to justify a massive buildup of troops in South Vietnam. As the American public grew increasingly disenchanted with its extended military adventure in the Southeast Asian nation, they decided to limit the "imperial" war-making powers of the president. Despite President Richard M. Nixon's veto, Congress passed the War Powers Act in 1973. The legislative measure called for a sixty-day waiting period before engaging in an undeclared war.

Some political scientists claim that the War Powers Act is nothing more than a mere "paper tiger"—something that looks effective on paper but that does not work in reality. Since the act's passage, U.S. presidents have violated the measure and invaded several countries (such as Lebanon, Grenada, and Panama) without congressional approval. In October 2002 Congress, under joint Resolution 114, granted President George W. Bush full authority to use any "necessary and appropriate" force against Iraq to protect America and its citizens without returning to Congress for approval.

Typically, the U.S. national security infrastructure leaves the executive branch in the position of "proposing" national security or foreign policy initiatives, such as treaties and agreements. It leaves the Congress, especially the Senate, in the position of "disposing" them, as in ratifying treaties, approving foreign-aid budgets and defense appropriations, approving the appointment of ambassadors, and providing some oversight of intelligence and covert operations.

The roles of Congress and the executive branch are occasionally reversed. However, the experience of the Constitution's framers was generally that the Congress, a "deliberative body" (a group that must debate and vote on issues before acting on them), acts slowly compared with the executive branch. Therefore, it would not be appropriate for Congress to control functions requiring strong, immediate control, such as commanding the armed forces

FIGURE 8.1

or negotiating treaties. If Congress was responsible for these types of functions, it could potentially act incompetently, or it might not act at all.

On national security matters, the president first works with executive staff, then with certain executive departments. The executive staffs and departments involved in national security include the White House staff; the NSC and its staff; the State Department; the Department of Defense (DOD), including the secretary of defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS); the CIA; and the OMB. This chapter will specifically deal with the civilian branches of U.S. government that deal with national security. The military and its various aspects will be addressed in Chapter 9.