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20 - ORGANIZATIONS/GOVERNMENT/USA/NSC Special Group.md

@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ The NSC Special Group (formally the Operations Coordinating Board's 5412/2 Speci
 
 ### Structure and Authority
 
-The Special Group's legal foundation was laid in successive NSC directives. President Eisenhower approved NSC 5412 on March 15, 1954, reaffirming the CIA's authority to conduct covert operations abroad and establishing the first formal interagency coordination requirement: the DCI was made responsible for coordinating with designated representatives of the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense to ensure that covert operations were planned and conducted consistently with U.S. foreign and military policies, with the [[Operations Coordinating Board]] designated as the normal coordination channel.[^1]
+The [[Special Group]]'s legal foundation was laid in successive NSC directives. President Eisenhower approved NSC 5412 on March 15, 1954, reaffirming the CIA's authority to conduct covert operations abroad and establishing the first formal interagency coordination requirement: the DCI was made responsible for coordinating with designated representatives of the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense to ensure that covert operations were planned and conducted consistently with U.S. foreign and military policies, with the [[Operations Coordinating Board]] designated as the normal coordination channel.[^1]
 
 On March 12, 1955, Eisenhower approved NSC 5412/1, which was identical to NSC 5412 except for a critical substitution: it designated a newly created Planning Coordination Group, chaired by Rockefeller, as the body responsible for covert operations oversight in place of the full OCB. Rockefeller had proposed this arrangement himself on March 3, 1955; Eisenhower approved it on March 4 and the NSC formally ratified it on March 10.[^2] The Planning Coordination Group was intended to restrict knowledge of covert programs "so far as possible to those who have a need to know," limiting the oversight circle to the Under Secretary of State, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the Director of Central Intelligence [[Allen Dulles]], and Rockefeller as chairman.[^3]
 
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ The Planning Coordination Group proved short-lived. Rockefeller himself recommen
 
 ### The Rockefeller Appointment
 
-President Eisenhower's letter appointing Rockefeller Special Assistant to the President was dated December 15, 1954, effective December 16. The appointment gave Rockefeller authority to attend meetings of the Cabinet, the National Security Council, the Council on Foreign Economic Policy, and the Operations Coordinating Board, positioning him as the White House's senior representative across all interagency deliberative bodies relevant to covert operations oversight.[^5] Rockefeller resigned the position in December 1955, coinciding with the abolishment of the Planning Coordination Group he had chaired and its replacement by the NSC 5412/2 Special Group structure.
+President Eisenhower's letter appointing Rockefeller Special Assistant to the President was dated December 15, 1954, effective December 16. The appointment gave Rockefeller authority to attend meetings of the Cabinet, the National Security Council, the Council on Foreign Economic Policy, and the Operations Coordinating Board, positioning him as the [[White House]]'s senior representative across all interagency deliberative bodies relevant to covert operations oversight.[^5] Rockefeller resigned the position in December 1955, coinciding with the abolishment of the Planning Coordination Group he had chaired and its replacement by the NSC 5412/2 Special Group structure.
 
 ### The Family Jewels Briefing
 
@@ -48,11 +48,11 @@ The Special Group mechanism persisted through subsequent administrations under v
 
 The Kennedy administration retained the NSC 5412/2 Special Group structure but significantly expanded its operational scope. Following the Bay of Pigs failure in April 1961, General [[Maxwell Taylor]] submitted a review recommending stronger oversight, and in November 1961, President Kennedy authorized [[Operation Mongoose]], a major covert program aimed at overthrowing [[Fidel Castro|Castro]]. Operational control was entrusted to a Special Group (Augmented), which consisted of the standard Special Group membership plus [[Attorney General]] [[Robert Kennedy]] and General Taylor as chairman. The Special Group (Augmented) functioned from November 1961 to October 1962, with Robert Kennedy serving as the "principal motive force" and informal link between the group and the President.[^11] The formal Kennedy-era Special Group was chaired by McGeorge Bundy as the President's Special Assistant for National Security Affairs, with members including Deputy Under Secretary of State U. Alexis Johnson, Deputy Secretary of Defense Roswell Gilpatric, DCI Allen Dulles, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Lyman Lemnitzer.
 
-President Kennedy also established a separate Special Group (Counterinsurgency) by NSAM No. 124 on January 18, 1962, to coordinate military and police aid, anti-guerrilla operations, and security programs distinct from the NSC 5412/2 covert operations mechanism. This body included Agency for International Development officials, United States Information Agency representatives, and Robert Kennedy; when Taylor moved to the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairmanship on October 1, 1962, Robert Kennedy sought to assume the chairmanship of the Special Group (CI) but was instead succeeded in the chair by U. Alexis Johnson, with Michael Forrestal taking over as White House representative. The Special Group (CI) was abolished by President [[Lyndon Johnson]] in 1965.[^12]
+President Kennedy also established a separate Special Group (Counterinsurgency) by NSAM No. 124 on January 18, 1962, to coordinate military and police aid, anti-guerrilla operations, and security programs distinct from the NSC 5412/2 covert operations mechanism. This body included Agency for International Development officials, [[United States Information Agency]] representatives, and Robert Kennedy; when Taylor moved to the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairmanship on October 1, 1962, Robert Kennedy sought to assume the chairmanship of the Special Group (CI) but was instead succeeded in the chair by U. Alexis Johnson, with Michael Forrestal taking over as White House representative. The Special Group (CI) was abolished by President [[Lyndon Johnson]] in 1965.[^12]
 
-The NSC 5412/2 Special Group was renamed the 303 Committee by NSAM No. 303, issued June 2, 1964. The name change was initiated after the publication of David Wise and Thomas B. Ross's book "The Invisible Government" made the "Special Group" designation public; an NSC staffer recommended the replacement name be "something utterly drab and innocuous" to deflect attention. The NSAM 303 change in name did not alter the committee's composition, functions, or responsibilities. Between January 1967 and June 1968, the 303 Committee considered 23 projects for Africa, 33 for Latin America, 15 for Europe, 14 for Asia, and 2 for the Middle East.[^13]
+The NSC 5412/2 Special Group was renamed the [[303 Committee]] by NSAM No. 303, issued June 2, 1964. The name change was initiated after the publication of David Wise and Thomas B. Ross's book "The Invisible Government" made the "Special Group" designation public; an NSC staffer recommended the replacement name be "something utterly drab and innocuous" to deflect attention. The NSAM 303 change in name did not alter the committee's composition, functions, or responsibilities. Between January 1967 and June 1968, the 303 Committee considered 23 projects for Africa, 33 for [[Latin America]], 15 for Europe, 14 for Asia, and 2 for the [[Middle East]].[^13]
 
-The 303 Committee was replaced by the 40 Committee under the Nixon administration, named after National Security Decision Memorandum 40.
+The 303 Committee was replaced by the [[40 Committee]] under the Nixon administration, named after National Security Decision Memorandum 40.
 
 ### The Rockefeller Commission Conflict of Interest