Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume XXXVIII, Part 2, Organization and Management of Foreign Policy; Public Diplomacy, 1973–1976

8. National Security Decision Memorandum 224¹

Washington, June 28, 1973.

TO

• The Secretary of State
• The Acting Secretary of Defense
• The Director of Central Intelligence

SUBJECT

• National Net Assessment Process, NSSM 178

The President, upon review of the paper prepared and submitted in compliance with NSSM 178² and the comments of the NSCIC Principals thereon,³ has approved the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Group and wishes to proceed with a program of national net assessment. To this end:

—A permanent Net Assessment Standing Committee is established, having representation from the Departments of State and Defense, and the Director of Central Intelligence, and chaired by a representative of the National Security Council Staff.

—Requests for net assessments will be issued as National Security Study Memoranda.

—Net assessments prepared in accordance with these NSSMs will be forwarded to the Chairman of the NSCIC for review by that Committee.

Addressees should forward to me the names of their representatives to the Net Assessment Standing Committee.

Henry A. Kissinger

1. Source: National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–241, Policy Papers, 1969–1974, National Security Decision Memoranda, NSDM 224. Secret. A copy was sent to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
2. See Document 3 and footnote 3 thereto. The paper, prepared by the Ad Hoc Net Assessment Group for Kissinger, in his capacity as the Chairman of the NSCIC, is in the National Archives, Nixon Presidential Materials, NSC Files, NSC Institutional Files (H-Files), Box H–241, Policy Papers, 1969–1974, National Security Decision Memoranda, NSDM 224. Its main conclusions and proposals are summarized in a June 21 memorandum from Andrew W. Marshall of the NSC Staff to Kissinger. The paper concluded: The primary role of net assessment should be “diagnosis, the clarification and structuring of emerging national security related problems or opportunities;” a Net Assessment Standing Committee should be established; the subjects for net assessment should be designated by the President or the Assistant for National Security Affairs; and a single participant agency should be designated in most cases as responsible for conducting the assessment and producing an appropriate report. The paper concluded that net assessment reports should be reviewed by the NSCIC and affirmed study methodologies and analytical tools currently employed for national security-related studies. (Ibid.)
3. The comments of the NSCIC Principals on NSSM 178 are summarized in Marshall’s June 21 memorandum to Kissinger. Marshall noted that, with the exception of Admiral Moorer, all parties agreed that the process for producing national net assessments recommended in the report were “suitable” and should be established “without further ado.” (Ibid.)