Office of the Historian

270. Draft Proposed NSC Directive0

Washington, May 5, 1948.
1.
There is hereby established under the NSC the position of Director of Special Studies. The Director shall be nominated by the Secretary of State and appointed by the NSC.
2.
The Director should have initially a full time staff of four representatives assigned from the Department of State and one representative each from the Departments of the Army, Navy and Air Force, and the CIA, and one member to be designated by the Secretary of National Defense.
3.
For the purpose of coordinating covert operations as defined in this paper, in the interest of national security, it shall be the duty of the Director, under the direction of the National Security Council:
a.
To arrange for the preparation, by his own staff or other agencies as appropriate, of plans for covert operations.
b.
To review all such plans, and if he approves them to arrange for their execution by appropriate agencies.
c.
To review the execution of such operations to insure that they are being conducted in accordance with approved plans, provided that nothing contained herein shall require the disclosure of secret intelligence sources and methods.
d.
To arrange for the development of a program for the conduct of covert operations in time of war or national emergency to include such matters as organization, training, equipment and logistical support.
4.
The Director of Special Studies is charged with ensuring that such covert activities are consistent with US foreign policies and overt activities and that appropriate agencies of the US Government both at home and abroad (including diplomatic and military representatives in each area) are kept informed of such operations which will directly affect them.
5.
The Director is charged with giving timely notification of intended plans and operations to directly interested governmental agencies. Any disagreements arising should be resolved by the staff of the Director in their respective agencies, and in event of no resolution of important features of the plans or operations, the matter shall be referred to the NSC.
6.
Covert operations are understood to be all planned measures exclusive of armed conflict by recognized military forces and overt information emanating from a legitimate source designed to influence the thought, morale, and behavior of a people in such a manner as to further the accomplishment of national aims.
  1. Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 273, Records of the National Security Council, NSC 10/2.Top Secret. No drafting information appears on the source text. For another version, see the draft NSC directive, May 4 (ibid.), in the Supplement.↩