Operations Coordinating Board

In this article, we are going to explore Operations Coordinating Board and its impact in different contexts. From its origin to its current evolution, Operations Coordinating Board has been a topic of interest and debate in various areas. We will analyze its importance in contemporary society, its relevance in the academic field and its influence on technological development. Additionally, we will examine how Operations Coordinating Board has shaped people's opinions and attitudes over time and how it continues to be a reference point in today's world. Through this comprehensive analysis, we hope to shed light on Operations Coordinating Board and provide a more complete view of its impact on everyday life.

The Operations Coordinating Board (OCB) was a committee of the United States Executive created in 1953 by President Eisenhower's Executive Order 10483 and tasked with oversight of United States covert operations. Eisenhower simultaneously gave secret instructions specifying additional functions for the new entity.[1] The board, which reported to the National Security Council was responsible for integrating the implementation of national security policies across several agencies. An important part of its mandate was to act as the president's coordinating committee for the most incendiary secret foreign policy actions, such as covert operations.[2]

The board's membership was to include the Under Secretary of State, who was to chair the board, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the Director of the Foreign Operations Administration, the Director of Central Intelligence, and the President's Special Assistant for Psychological Warfare. Also authorized to attend were the President's Special Assistant for National Security Affairs and the Director of the United States Information Agency.

History

The creation of the board was a recommendation of the Jackson Committee, chaired by William Harding Jackson, set-up to propose future United States Government information and psychological warfare programs. The same committee recommended the existing Psychological Strategy Board be abolished.[3]

The OCB was originally a separate body, but became an official part of the NSC with Eisenhower's issuance of Executive Order 10700 in 1957.[4]

Abolition and Succession

The Operations Coordinating Board was abolished by President Kennedy on February 19, 1961 because it was thought that secret wars should not be overseen by so many officials.[5] By that time, much of OCB's work was being continued by other bodies, such as the Planning Coordination Group (PCG), pursuant to presidential directive Covert Operations NSC 5412/12 in 1955, and by the Special Group.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Memorandum From President Eisenhower to the Executive Secretary of the National Security Council (Lay)". history.state.gov. 2 September 1953.
  2. ^ a b Jacobsen, Annie (2019). Surprise, Kill, Vanish: The Secret History of CIA Paramilitary Armies, Operators, and Assassins, (New York: Little Brown and Company), p. 115
  3. ^ "U.S. President's Committee on International Information Activities (Jackson Committee): Records, 1950-53" (PDF). Eisenhower Presidential Center website.
  4. ^ Cramer, Drew; Mullins, Grant. Lessons Learned from Prior Attempts at National Security Reform. p. 15. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  5. ^ Prados, John (2006), "Safe for Democracy: The Secret Wars of the CIA," Ivan R. Dee, p. 150


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