The National Security Council

Abstract

As an introduction to how the National Security Council (NSC) handled the news of Sputnik, it should be noted that President Eisenhower not only made extensive use of the NSC and created a structured system of integrating policy reviews, but also promoted discussion and debate among the advisors. His NSC had five statutory members: The President, Vice President, Secretaries of State and Defense, and Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization. Other Cabinet members and advisors attended and participated as appropriate to the subject. The agenda included regular briefings by the Director of Center Intelligence. An Operations Coordinating Board brought the subjects to the NSC and implemented its actions. For the meeting about the launch of Sputnik, the key speakers were the Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and his brother Allen Dulles, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.