Presidential directive

National Security Decision Directive 114, signed by Ronald Reagan

Presidential Directives, better known as Presidential Decision Directives or PDD are a form of an executive order issued by the President of the United States with the advice and consent of the National Security Council. As a National Security instrument, the PDD articulates the executive's policy, carries the "full force and effect of law", and throughout the terms of presidents, have taken on various titles or intents towards national security policy.

Since many of the Presidential Directives pertain to the national security of the United States, many were or are promulgated as classified. Various presidents since the administration of John F. Kennedy have issued such directives but under different names.

Names for National Security Directives by administration

NSCID	National Security Council Intelligence Directives	1947-1977	Truman - Ford
NSAM	National Security Action Memorandums	1961-1969	Kennedy and Johnson
NSSM	National Security Study Memorandums	1969–1977	Nixon and Ford
NSDM	National Security Decision Memorandums	1969–1977	Nixon and Ford
PRM	Presidential Review Memorandums	1977-1981	Carter
PD	Presidential Directives	1977–1981	Carter
NSSD	National Security Study Directives	1981-1989	Reagan
NSDD	National Security Decision Directives	1981–1989	Reagan
NSR	National Security Reviews	1989-1993	G. H. W. Bush
NSD	National Security Directives	1989–1993	G. H. W. Bush
PRD	Presidential Review Directive	1993-2001	Clinton
PDD	Presidential Decision Directives	1993–2001	Clinton
NSPD	National Security Presidential Directives	2001–2009	G. W. Bush
HSPD	Homeland Security Presidential Directives	2001-	G. W. Bush and Obama
PSD	Presidential Study Directives	2009-	Obama
PPD	Presidential Policy Directives	2009-	Obama

After the hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship and interagency problems over responsibility for coordinating terrorism efforts, a National Security Decision Directive was signed by President Reagan in early 1986. This gave the State Department responsibility for coordinating international terrorism policy.

After September 11, 2001, George Bush issued Homeland Security Presidential Directives (HSPDs), with the consent of the Homeland Security Council. The first such directive created the Homeland Security Council while the second changed immigration policies to combat terrorism. The most recent HSPD (HSPD-21) was issued October 18, 2007 and called for public and private healthcare organizations, hospitals and healthcare facilities to form a system of "disaster healthcare" the definition of which mimicked the definition of disaster medicine.

The State Department was put in charge of coordinating the efforts of CIA, DOD, and FBI efforts to track and deal with terrorism. The first man in charge was L. Paul Bremer with the title Coordinator for Counter Terrorism at State Department (S/CT).

Steven Aftergood, of the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy, stated in February 2008 that:

Of the 54 National Security Presidential Directives issued by the (George W.) Bush Administration to date, the titles of only about half have been publicly identified. There is descriptive material or actual text in the public domain for only about a third. In other words, there are dozens of undisclosed Presidential directives that define U.S. national security policy and task government agencies, but whose substance is unknown either to the public or, as a rule, to Congress.

See also

• Presidential memorandum
• PDD-62
• Continuity of Operations Plan
• National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive (NSPD-51)

External links

• Homeland Security Watch (www.HLSwatch.com) provides current details on HSPS-1 implementation
• List of National Security Presidential Directives and Homeland Security Presidential Directives, Federation of American Scientists
• National Security Action Memorandums | Document & Images From The Presidential Papers of John Fitzgerald Kennedy | National Security Files
• Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum
• JFK | NSAMs list | PDF
• Federation of American Scientists Collection of Presidential Directives
• Presidential Directives: Background and Overview | PDF
• Terrorism: Why The Numbers Matter By Larry C Johnson, Managing Director BERG Associates, LLC
• The National Security Archive - George Washington University
• Homeland Security Presidential Directives

• List of National Security Presidential Directives and Homeland Security Presidential Directives, Federation of American Scientists
• Homeland Security Watch (www.HLSwatch.com) provides current details on HSPD-1 implementation