American Commando Killed in Yemen in Trump’s First Counterterror Operation - by ERIC SCHMITT Sunday January 29th, 2017 at 9:02 AM - World News Review - Three others were injured in a fierce firefight with Qaeda militants in a dawn attack. | Trump just made an unprecedented, 'radical' change to the National Security Council - Business Insider
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SANAA, Yemen (AP) -- The Latest on a U.S. raid targeting al-Qaida militants in Yemen (all times local):...
Three others were injured in a fierce firefight with Qaeda militants in a dawn attack.
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Fourteen militants, including three senior al-Qaeda figures, and a US soldier are killed.
Soldier killed during raid
Three others were injured in a fierce firefight with Qaeda militants in a dawn attack.
A suspected US commando raid in Yemen has killed 41 Al-Qaeda militants and 16 civilians, according to local officials. The helicopter-borne assault was conducted at dawn in the south of the war-ravaged country.Read Full Article at RT.com
RT - Daily news
Dozens of militants are killed, including three senior al-Qaeda figures, reports say.
 Daily Times |
Yemeni Officials Say US Makes Surprise Raid
New York Times SANAA, Yemen — U.S. forces launched a raid in central Yemen on Sunday, security and tribal officials said, landing troops off of aircraft and killing three alleged senior al-Qaida leaders in a battle that was the third such U.S. ground engagement ... '57 dead' in first US raid on Qaeda in Yemen under TrumpYahoo News Yemen al-Qaeda: US commandos reportedly raid strongholdBBC News Alleged US raid in Yemen kills 30 Qaeda members, civilians - officialsReuters Aljazeera.com -Washington Post -Deutsche Welle -WBT all 33 news articles » |
Yemeni security and tribal officials say the U.S. has launched a raid in central Yemen, landing troops off of aircraft and killing three alleged senior al-Qaida leaders in a battle on the ground
SANAA, Yemen — The U.S. military said Sunday that one service member was killed and three others wounded in a raid in Yemen targeting its local al-Qaida branch, marking the first-known combat death of a member of the U.S. military under President Donald Trump.
The raid left about 30 people dead, including women and children, according to an al-Qaida official and a news service linked to the terror group. One of the children killed was Nora, the 8-year-old daughter of Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical Yemeni-American cleric killed in a U.S. airstrike in Yemen in 2011, according to the girl's grandfather.
Nasser al-Awlaki told The Associated Press that Nora was visiting her mother when the surprise pre-dawn raid took place on Sunday.
U.S. Central Command said in a statement that a fourth service member was injured in a "hard landing" in a nearby location. The aircraft was unable to fly afterward and was "intentionally destroyed."
It said militants from al-Qaida's branch in Yemen, formally known as "al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula," were killed in the assault and that U.S. service members taking part in the raid captured "information that will likely provide insight into the planning of future terror plots."
A U.S. defense official said the raid was approved by Trump. President Barack Obama had been briefed on it before he left office on Jan. 20, but for operational reasons it was not ready to be executed before he departed, according to the official, who was not authorized to discuss details beyond those announced by the Pentagon and so spoke on condition of anonymity.
Yemeni security and tribal officials said the raid in Yemen's central Bayda province killed three senior al-Qaida leaders: Abdul-Raouf al-Dhahab, Sultan al-Dhahab, and Seif al-Nims.
The al-Dhahab [D-h-a (Da), Ahab! - M.N.] family, who are the late al-Awlaki's in-laws, is considered an ally of al-Qaida, which is now chiefly concentrated in Bayda province. A third family member, Tarek al-Dhahab, was killed in a U.S. drone strike several years ago. It was not immediately clear whether the family members were actual members of al-Qaida.
An online news serviced linked to al-Qaida in Yemen likened the raid to a "massacre against Muslims" and said U.S. warplanes were first seen in the sky above the area at 9 p.m. Saturday and that the raid began at 2 a.m. on Sunday, with 16 missiles hitting three houses near Yakla [Yak, la - M.N.] village in Radaa [Rad-glad, a-a... - M.N.] district.
A two-hour gunbattle ensued after American service members landed on the ground, it said. About 30 men, women and children were killed in the raid, it added.
The killed and wounded included some Saudis present at the site, according to the Yemeni officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief journalists.
An al-Qaida official sent to the AP Cairo photos purportedly showing the bloodied bodies of several children killed in the raid along with houses showing bullet holes. The official requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.
Just over a week ago, suspected U.S. drone strikes killed three other alleged al-Qaida operatives in Bayda in what was the first-such killings reported in the country since Trump assumed the U.S. presidency.
The tribal officials said the Americans captured and departed with at least two unidentified individuals on Sunday, but the U.S. official in Washington said no detainees were taken in the raid,
Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, long seen by Washington as among the most dangerous branches of the global terror network, has exploited the chaos of Yemen's civil war, seizing territory in the south and east.
The war began in 2014, when Shiite Houthi rebels and their allies swept down from the north and captured the capital, Sanaa [San a-a: Son, a-a... - M.N.]. A Saudi-led military coalition has been helping government forces battle the rebels for nearly two years.
Separately, Yemen's president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi a day earlier called for the remnants of his parliament, many of whom are in exile in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere, to convene in the country's southern port city of Aden, where he is struggling to establish government control.
___
Michael reported from Cairo. Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and AP National Security Writer Robert Burns in Washington contributed to this report.
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M.N. How did this particular target emerge? How were the operational details processed? What was the need for the human involvement, instead of entirely by drones? What were, and are, the possible channels of the possible outflow of information, which seems to be almost indisputable? Was the timing determined by the Pr-t Trump's phone call to the Saudis, and why?
You may dismiss all these questions with the "gnashing of teeth", as some little mouse's empty noise, but they have a certain logic in them. But most of all, methinks respectfully, they point to the warning, lesson, need to be very careful, to examine the flaws, to act without a trace of any political pressures, just disregarding them completely, to use the technology predominantly and mostly, and to reserve the human participation only when absolutely needed and as the last resort. Again: I say all this humbly and respectfully, as a complete outsider and a non-professional. I do not think that these losses, even whatever minimal, should be allowed and repeated, all this might escalate into the wrong direction, as some opponents probably desire so much, and probably plan.
It makes sense to build the protective firewalls at all the relevant points and in all the relevant places, despite the customs and traditions. These are the special times and the special circumstances, and they require the special precautions and special tactics. In these circumstances, the organizational self-preservation and a certain autonomy is the must, the most of all, and the above all.
It makes sense to build the protective firewalls at all the relevant points and in all the relevant places, despite the customs and traditions. These are the special times and the special circumstances, and they require the special precautions and special tactics. In these circumstances, the organizational self-preservation and a certain autonomy is the must, the most of all, and the above all.
Business Insider |
Trump just made an unprecedented, 'radical' change to the National Security Council
Business Insider President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum Saturday that removed the nation's top military and intelligence advisers as regular attendees of the National Security Council's Principals Committee, the interagency forum that deals with policy ... Trump Gives Controversial Adviser Stephen Bannon Seat at National Security Council MeetingsABC News Trump Orders Shuffle of National Security CouncilWall Street Journal Trump puts Bannon on security council, dropping joint chiefsBBC News USA TODAY -The Guardian all 60 news articles » |
U.S. President Donald Trump holds an executive order dealing with the structure of the National Security Council after signing it in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, Jan. 28, 2017.
M.N.: My jaw dropped down in shock, and I still cannot fix it. Just do not tell me that it will need a little kinetic action.
Trump just made an unprecedented, 'radical' change to the National ...
Business Insider-1 hour ago
"The appointment of Mr. Bannon is something which is a radical departure from any National Security Council in history," Republican Sen.
Trump Memorandum on Organization of National Security Council
In-Depth-Voice of America-19 hours ago
In-Depth-Voice of America-19 hours ago
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President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum Saturday that removed the nation's top military and intelligence advisers as regular attendees of the National Security Council's Principals Committee, the interagency forum that deals with policy issues affecting national security.
The executive measure established Trump's chief strategist Steve Bannon as a regular attendee, whereas the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of National Intelligence will be allowed to participate only "where issues pertaining to their responsibilities and expertise are to be discussed."
"The appointment of Mr. Bannon is something which is a radical departure from any National Security Council in history," Republican Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday.
"The one person who is indispensable would be the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in my view," McCain added. "So it’s of concern, this 'reorganization.'"
John Bellinger, an adjunct senior fellow in International and National Security Law at the Council on Foreign Relations and former legal adviser to the National Security Council, wrote on Saturday that the change is "unusual."
"In the Bush administration, Karl Rove would not attend NSC meetings," Bellinger said. "According to former Chief of Staff Josh Bolten, President Bush did not want to appear, especially to the military, to insert domestic politics into national security decision-making."
With his permanent seat at the NSC meetings, Bannon has been elevated above the director of the CIA, Mike Pompeo, who was not offered an open invitation.
"The CIA Director is typically invited to NSC and Principals Committee meetings," Bellinger said, though he added that President Barack Obama's list of invitees to such meetings did not include the CIA director.
Trump's executive order on Saturday established Steve Bannon as a regular member of the National Security Council's Principals Committee. AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
CNN national security correspondent Jim Sciutto noted on Sunday that the move was "certainly unprecedented."
"You're putting in someone who is not Senate confirmed and taking out the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Director of National Intelligence, who need to be Senate confirmed," Sciutto told CNN's Jake Tapper. "It raises questions about whose voices will be most prominent about key national-security decisions in the country."
Former Secretary of Defense Bob Gates told ABC on Sunday morning that sidelining the DNI and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was "a big mistake."
"Adding people to the NSC never really bothers me," Gates said, referring to Bannon's new role on the committee. "My biggest concern is that, under law, there are only two statutory advisers to the National Security Council — the DNI, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff."
"Pushing them out," Gates said, is "a big mistake. They both bring perspective, judgment, and experience to bear that every president — whether they like it or not — finds useful."
A 'shadow National Security Council'
The Washington Post's Josh Rogin reported before Trump was sworn in that Bannon, Jared Kushner, and Reince Priebus comprised an informal "shadow national security council" that "sits atop the Trump transition team’s executive committee and has the final say on national-security personnel appointments."
Jared Kushner is Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser. Priebus is Trump's chief of staff.
"Bannon has been working on the long-term strategic vision that will shape the Trump administration’s overall foreign policy approach," Rogin reported, citing transition officials. He "is committed to working on the buildup of the military and is also interested in connecting the Trump apparatus to leaders of populist movements around the world, especially in Europe."
Prior to joining the Trump campaign, Bannon was the CEO of the far-right website Breitbart News — a website known for its antiestablishment, white-nationalist positions on issues such as immigration and trade. A week into his presidency, Trump has already prioritized a number of agenda items that reflect Bannon's own nationalist views, including a border wall and a crackdown on immigration and refugee admissions. He also echoed Bannon's claim that "the media is the opposition party."
Breitbart's role inside the Trump White House is growing: Sebastian Gorka, an editor for National Security Affairs at Breitbart who was paid by Trump's campaign for policy consulting, is expected to join the National Security Council. Julia Hahn, a hardline immigration writer for Breitbart, will join the administration as a special assistant to the president.
Donald Trump is joined by his daughter Tiffany, left, and son-in-law Jared Kushner as he speaks during a news conference at the Trump National Golf Club Westchester, Tuesday, June 7, 2016, in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. Mary Altaffer/AP
The NSC Principals Committee will be chaired by former Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, Trump's national security adviser, and Tom Bossert, Trump's homeland security adviser. Defense Secretary James Mattis and Trump's secretary of state nominee, Rex Tillerson, have seats on the committee, but they "begin at a disadvantage," Rogin said.
They will be "fighting for influence in a team of strong personalities who are busily carving up issues, making plans and nurturing already close relationships" with Trump, Rogin wrote, referring to Bannon, Kushner, and Priebus.
The secretary of energy and director of the Office of Management and Budget were also removedfrom the committee's list of "regular members," and the deputy secretary of state will no longer be invited to every committee meeting. The chair of the Council of Economic Advisers will not be invited even "when issues to be discussed pertain to their responsibilities and expertise."
Unilateral moves
Trump already seems to be marginalizing the influence of career officials with extensive federal experience at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the State Department, the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Justice Department.
On Saturday, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani told Fox that he helped draft Trump's "extreme vetting" executive order after Trump called him and asked how to do a "Muslim ban" "legally." Officials told CNN that the order was a unilateral move.
Department of Homeland Security staff, the officials said, were only allowed to see the order barring refugees from the US after Trump signed it, and National Security Council lawyers were preventedfrom evaluating it. The State Department and the DoD were also excluded from the process, NBC reported.
After seeing the order, the DHS interpreted it to mean that green card holders from the banned countries — who have already been subjected to intense vetting — would be allowed to reenter the US from trips abroad. But that interpretation was overruled by the White House, which later said that green card holders would be allowed in only on a "case-by-case" basis.
Iraqi immigrant Hameed Darwish stands with Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez (R) after being released at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York, U.S., January 28, 2017.Andrew Kelly/Reuters
"The policy team at the White House developed the executive order on refugees and visas," CNN reported, "and largely avoided the traditional interagency process that would have allowed the Justice Department and homeland security agencies to provide operational guidance."
As a result, the order was imprecise and open to interpretation — and legal challenges.
The order "looks like what an intern came up with over a lunch hour," an immigration lawyer toldBenjamin Wittes, the editor-in-chief of Lawfare and a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution. "My take is that it is so poorly written that it’s hard to tell the impact."
"The president has created a target-rich environment for litigation" with the order, Wittes wrote.
Lawyers and civil-rights organizations were already challenging the constitutionality of the ban hours after it was signed, arguing that the ban violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment by "explicitly disapproving of one religion and implicitly preferring others."
Lawyers representing two Iraqi refugees who were detained at John F. Kennedy airport in New York filed legal challenges to the order, and a federal judge in Brooklyn issued an emergency rulingSaturday evening to stay the continued deportation of travelers.
The ruling, a temporary emergency stay, now allows those who landed in the US and hold a valid visa to remain. Federal judges in Virginia, Massachusetts, and Washington also made emergency rulings on various aspects of the executive order.
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
January 28, 2017
Office of the Press Secretary
For Immediate Release
January 28, 2017
NATIONAL SECURITY PRESIDENTIAL MEMORANDUM - 2
MEMORANDUM FOR THE VICE PRESIDENT
THE SECRETARY OF STATE
THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE
THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY
THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF OF STAFF
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF
STRATEGIST
THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND
BUDGET
THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE UNITED STATES TO THE
UNITED NATIONS
THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
THE CHAIR OF THE COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
THE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR NATIONAL
SECURITY AFFAIRS
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR HOMELAND
SECURITY AND COUNTERTERRORISM
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR ECONOMIC
POLICY
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
FOR TRADE AND MANUFACTURING POLICY
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR
INTRAGOVERNMENTAL AND TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVES
THE DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND
NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR TO THE VICE PRESIDENT
THE COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND
SPACE ADMINISTRATION
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
THE DIRECTOR OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF
INVESTIGATION
THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY POLICY
THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE PRESIDENT'S INTELLIGENCE
ADVISORY BOARD
THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT AGENCY
THE ARCHIVIST OF THE UNITED STATES
THE SECRETARY OF STATE
THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY
THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE
THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE
THE SECRETARY OF ENERGY
THE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF OF STAFF
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND CHIEF
STRATEGIST
THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND
BUDGET
THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE UNITED STATES TO THE
UNITED NATIONS
THE UNITED STATES TRADE REPRESENTATIVE
THE CHAIR OF THE COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
THE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR NATIONAL
SECURITY AFFAIRS
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR HOMELAND
SECURITY AND COUNTERTERRORISM
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR ECONOMIC
POLICY
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT
FOR TRADE AND MANUFACTURING POLICY
THE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR
INTRAGOVERNMENTAL AND TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVES
THE DEPUTY ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT AND
NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR TO THE VICE PRESIDENT
THE COUNSEL TO THE PRESIDENT
THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR
INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND
SPACE ADMINISTRATION
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION
THE DIRECTOR OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF
INVESTIGATION
THE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND
TECHNOLOGY POLICY
THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY
THE CHAIRMAN OF THE PRESIDENT'S INTELLIGENCE
ADVISORY BOARD
THE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT AGENCY
THE ARCHIVIST OF THE UNITED STATES
SUBJECT: Organization of the National Security Council and
the Homeland Security Council
the Homeland Security Council
As President, my highest priority is to ensure the safety and security of the American people. In order to advise and assist me in executing this solemn responsibility, as well as to protect and advance the national interests of the United States at home and abroad, I hereby direct that my system for national security policy development and decision-making shall be organized as follows:
A. The National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council, and Supporting Staff
The National Security Act of 1947, as amended, established the National Security Council (NSC) to advise the President with respect to the integration of domestic, foreign, and military policies relating to the national security. There is also a Homeland Security Council (HSC) -- established through Executive Order 13228 of October 8, 2001, and subsequently codified in the Homeland Security Act of 2002 -- that has the purpose of advising the President on matters pertaining to homeland security. Each Council is also responsible for the effective coordination of the security-related activities and functions of the executive departments and agencies.
The security threats facing the United States in the 21st century transcend international boundaries. Accordingly, the United States Government's decision-making structures and processes to address these challenges must remain equally adaptive and transformative. Both Councils are statutory bodies that the President will continue to chair. Invitations to participate in specific Council meetings shall be extended to those heads of executive departments and agencies, and other senior officials, who are needed to address the issue or issues under consideration. When the President is absent from a meeting of either Council, the Vice President may preside at the President's direction.
The Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (National Security Advisor) and the Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism (Homeland Security Advisor) shall be responsible, as appropriate and at the President's direction, for determining the agenda for the NSC or HSC, respectively, ensuring that the necessary papers are prepared, and recording Council actions and Presidential decisions in a timely manner. When international economic issues are on the agenda of the NSC, the National Security Advisor and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy shall perform these tasks in concert.
The NSC and HSC shall have as their regular attendees (both statutory and non-statutory) the President, the Vice President, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the National Security Advisor, the Homeland Security Advisor, and the Representative of the United States to the United Nations. When international economic issues are on the agenda of the NSC, the NSC's regular attendees will include the Secretary of Commerce, the United States Trade Representative, and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy. The Director of National Intelligence and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as statutory advisers to the NSC, shall also attend NSC meetings. The Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, the Assistant to the President and Chief Strategist, the Counsel to the President, the Deputy Counsel to the President for National Security Affairs, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget are invited as attendees to any NSC meeting.
In addition to the NSC and HSC, there is also a single NSC staff within the Executive Office of the President that serves both the NSC and HSC. The staff is composed of regional, issue-focused, and functional directorates and headed by a single civilian Executive Secretary, pursuant to 50 U.S.C. 3021, who is also the Chief of Staff. All policy and staff activity decisions will be transmitted to the Executive Secretary for appropriate distribution and awareness. The purpose of the NSC staff is to advise me, the National Security Advisor, the Homeland Security Advisor, the NSC members, the HSC members, and others in the White House; to facilitate the implementation of Administration policy; and to help coordinate the national-security-related activities of the executive departments and agencies.
B. The Principals Committee
The Principals Committee (PC) shall continue to serve as the Cabinet-level senior interagency forum for considering policy issues that affect the national security interests of the United States. The PC shall be convened and chaired by the National Security Advisor or the Homeland Security Advisor, as appropriate, in consultation with the appropriate attendees of the PC. The Chair shall determine the agenda in consultation with the appropriate committee members, and the Executive Secretary shall ensure that necessary papers are prepared and that conclusions and decisions are communicated in a timely manner. Invitations to participate in or attend a specific PC shall be extended at the discretion of the National Security Advisor and the Homeland Security Advisor, and may include those Cabinet-level heads of executive departments and agencies, and other senior officials, who are needed to address the issue under consideration.
The PC shall have as its regular attendees the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, the Assistant to the President and Chief Strategist, the National Security Advisor, and the Homeland Security Advisor. The Director of National Intelligence and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff shall attend where issues pertaining to their responsibilities and expertise are to be discussed. The Counsel to the President, the Deputy Counsel to the President for National Security Affairs, and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget may attend all PC meetings.
The Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor (Deputy National Security Advisor), the Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to the Vice President, and the Executive Secretary (who shall serve as the Executive Secretary of the PC) shall attend all of the meetings of the PC, and the Representative of the United States to the United Nations and the Assistant to the President for Intragovernmental and Technology Initiatives may attend as appropriate.
When international economic issues are on the agenda of the PC, the Committee's regular attendees will include the Secretary of Commerce, the United States Trade Representative, and the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy (who shall serve as Chair for agenda items that principally pertain to international economics).
C. The Deputies Committee
The Deputies Committee (DC) shall continue to serve as the senior sub-Cabinet interagency forum for consideration of, and where appropriate, decision-making on, policy issues that affect the national security interests of the United States. The DC shall be convened and chaired by the Deputy National Security Advisor or the Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Homeland Security Advisor (Deputy Homeland Security Advisor), as appropriate. The Chair shall determine the agenda in consultation with the regular DC members, and the Executive Secretary shall ensure that necessary papers are prepared and that conclusions and decisions are communicated in a timely manner. Invitations to participate in or attend a specific DC meeting shall be extended by the Chair to those at the Deputy or Under Secretary level of executive departments and agencies, and to other senior officials, who are needed to address the issue under consideration.
The DC shall have as its regular members the Deputy Secretary of State, the Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the Deputy Attorney General, the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, the Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Deputy Director of National Intelligence, the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Deputy Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to the Vice President, the Deputy National Security Advisor, the Deputy Homeland Security Advisor, and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development.
The Executive Secretary shall attend the DC meetings. The Deputy Counsel to the President for National Security Affairs may attend all DC meetings. The relevant Deputy Assistant to the President for the specific regional and functional issue under consideration shall also be invited to attend. Likewise, when and where appropriate, the Deputy Assistant to the President for Strategic Planning, the Deputy Assistant to the President for Strategic Communication, the Deputy Assistant to the President for International Economic Affairs, the Deputy Assistant to the President for Transnational Issues, and the Deputy Representative of the United States to the United Nations, shall also be invited to attend. Other senior officials shall be invited where appropriate.
The DC shall review and monitor the work of the interagency national security process, including the interagency groups established pursuant to section D below. The DC shall help to ensure that issues brought before the NSC, HSC, and PC have been properly analyzed and prepared for decision. The DC shall also focus significant attention on monitoring the implementation of policies and decisions and shall conduct periodic reviews of the Administration's major national security and foreign policy initiatives. The DC is responsible for establishing Policy Coordination Committees (PCCs) and for providing objectives and clear guidance.
D. Policy Coordination Committees
Management of the development and implementation of national security policies by multiple executive departments and agencies typically shall be accomplished by the PCCs, with participation primarily occurring at the Assistant Secretary level. As the main day-to-day fora for interagency coordination of national security policies, the PCCs shall provide policy analysis for consideration by the more senior committees of the national security system and ensure timely responses to the President's decisions.
Regional and issue-related PCCs shall be established at the direction of the DC. Members of the NSC staff (or National Economic Council staff, as appropriate) will chair the PCCs; the DC, at its discretion, may add co-chairs to any PCC. The PCCs shall review and coordinate the implementation of Presidential decisions in their respective policy areas. The Chair of each PCC, in consultation with the Executive Secretary, shall invite representatives of other executive departments and agencies to attend meetings of the PCC where appropriate. The Chair of each PCC, with the agreement of the Executive Secretary, may establish subordinate working groups to assist that PCC in the performance of its duties.
An early meeting of the DC will be devoted to establishing the PCCs, determining their memberships, and providing them with mandates and strict guidance. Until the DC has established otherwise, the existing system of Interagency Policy Committees shall continue.
E. General
The President and the Vice President may attend any and all meetings of any entity established by or under this memorandum.
This document is part of a series of National Security Presidential Memoranda that shall replace both Presidential Policy Directives and Presidential Study Directives as the instrument for communicating relevant Presidential decisions. This memorandum shall supersede all other existing Presidential guidance on the organization or support of the NSC and the HSC...
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