Introduction: The President's "personal band of warriors" -- The "bright young men" on the NSC -- The "center of the foreign policy universe in America" -- "Reckless cowboys off on their own wild ride" -- "What no other part of the government did" -- "Policy person first and foremost" -- A "wartime" staff -- "When you work for the President, you work for the President" -- Epilogue: What the NSC's warriors have won.
Summary:
"This revelatory history of the elusive National Security Council shows how staffers operating in the shadows have driven foreign policy clandestinely for decades. When Michael Flynn resigned in disgrace as the Trump administration's national security advisor the New York Times referred to the National Security Council as "the traditional center of management for a president's dealings with an uncertain world." Indeed, no institution or individual in the last seventy years has exerted more influence on the Oval Office or on the nation's wars than the NSC, yet until the explosive Trump presidency, few Americans could even name a member. With key analysis, John Gans traces the NSC's rise from a collection of administrative clerks in 1947 to what one recent commander-in-chief called the president's "personal band of warriors." A former Obama administration speechwriter, Gans weaves extensive archival research with dozens of news-making interviews to reveal the NSC's unmatched power, which has resulted in an escalation of hawkishness and polarization, both in Washington and the nation at large." -- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.