National Security Council - Obama Presidency Oral History Back National Security Council Index / Organizations Transcripts Naureen Shah ...in the second Obama White House on the National Security Council . But at the time, he was at the Stat... ...up working for the joint chiefs and NSC [National Security Council], who woul... ...working for the joint chiefs and NSC [ National Security Council ], who would be able to say that as ... Ben Rhodes ...speechwriting and senior director for National Security Council [NSC] speechwriting. I moved into th... ...for National Security Council [ NSC ] speechwriting. I moved into th... ...I got dual-hatted [phonetic] to the NSC and the White House, which kind o... ...in the White House and one foot in the NSC . I remember thinking at the time, “Th... ...better how to run processes and get the NSC to do things, so he would back me up o... ...Inside the White House, but then the NSC people. What they do, they share i... ...of this directorate at the National Security Council focused on global health security... ...playbook, the directorate at the NSC , the exercise in transition; there wa... ...was a process, a pretty standard NSC process, although it was the first NS... ...NSC process, although it was the first NSC process that I was ever a part of. Bu... ...it was basically Deputies Committee, Principals Committee recommendation to president about ho... ...Biden chaired a process. He would chair Principals Committee meetings on Iraq. He traveled to Ira... ...Department and Daniel Russel from the NSC came to me—these are our Asi... ...was asked to circulate it to the whole Principals Committee , the cabinet-level group. And I ge... ...this. Obama came down to join a Principals Committee meeting in the Situation Room. An... ...is that the White House, the non- NSC White House, was furious that we wer... ...disinformation. We were, from the NSC perspective, from my job-descriptio... ...did for anything else. We had the same NSC meetings, normal NSC meetings, but he'... ...We had the same NSC meetings, normal NSC meetings, but he'd have them at th... Show more... Jeremy Bash ...a big staff at the White House, at the NSC [National Security Council], because h... ...staff at the White House, at the NSC [ National Security Council ], because he was vice president. An... ...Mark [W.] Lippert, and others on the NSC staff, and throughout th... ...think most importantly, deals with the National Security Council principals. This was a very importan... ...it had John [O.] Brennan as a senior National Security Council official, close to the president, clos... ...the president, close to the White House National Security Council leadership. And in John, you ha... ...he was CIA's natural interface at the NSC . And from my perspective, everythin... ...was that the Obama White House and the National Security Council took intelligence enormously seriously... ...Daily Briefing. They allowed every National Security Council meeting to begin with an intelligenc... ...that Tom Donilon, who was running the National Security Council process at the time, and ultimatel... ...And we at CIA briefed this lead to the National Security Council . It was briefed to President Obama... ...the CIA. You've been in all the National Security Council meetings. The president likes you an... ...I would say the leadership of the NSC —again, I give Tom Donilon a lot o... Show more... Samuel Locklear ...that they would evidently go to the National Security Council or to the president and tell them... Denis McDonough ...served as the chief of staff of the NSC [National Security Council] and as th... ...as the chief of staff of the NSC [ National Security Council ] and as the deputy national securit... ...few jobs becoming chief of staff to the NSC , and then ultimately the principa... ...body, the policy execution body at the NSC , is so important. I think that's wh... ...into your time as chief of staff of the NSC . Were there any particular issues tha... ...appointment as chief of staff of the NSC ; how that came about and what'... ...up being national security advisor. The National Security Council is big, but you're close-in staff i... ...on how to run the process in the NSC . Then, when I left chief of staff an... ...that I learned from Tom and making that NSC run. And making sure that no matter ho... ...full steam ahead.” Then it goes to the Principals Committee and they're all like, “This is th... ...decisions that we were making at the NSC are made at the deputies level. So To... ...Tahrir Square. I was a member of the Principals Committee , but so as to be—basically, I coul... ...to the president, “Mr. President, the Principals Committee met, and they don't think you shoul... ...do you think?” And I said, “Well, the Principals Committee met, and they think you should no... ...not here to tell you what I think. The Principals Committee just met, and they don't think yo... ...know [laughter]. When I worked in the National Security Council , I was like, “Not enough UNGA.” But h... ...deputy. Tom is a big believer in the National Security Council process, which goes back to th... ...This was true when I was in the National Security Council too. In fact, once I was in New Yor... ...with those other members in the National Security Council . But when I got there, I realized i... ...in the Sit [Situation] Room qua the National Security Council . And he had had a major meeting wit... Show more... Hillary Clinton ...Bob Gates was reporting to us in our National Security Council [NSC] meetings how the Defens... ...us in our National Security Council [ NSC ] meetings how the Defense Departmen... ...a very small, tight group with the National Security Council , trying to figure out how we would d... ...and the White House paired him with an NSC -CIA rep, and they went off to Oma... Tom Donilon ...which was to win. It wasn't an NSC [National Security Council] meeting... ...which was to win. It wasn't an NSC [ National Security Council ] meeting. This was a briefing with ... ...the State Department and then for the National Security Council . So I was pretty focused on [laughs... ...Department and then the one for the NSC , which was to go in and determine wha... ...if you look through the people on the National Security Council , they were really leaders in thei... ...was a strong White House, and a strong National Security Council process and system, that was put i... ...through the various structures of the NSC , and the process by which th... ...Don Rumsfeld opted out of the National Security Council system in the Bush administration, an... ...security council to Condi Rice's National Security Council . It was terrible for her. We weren'... ...he was going to be a key member of the Principals Committee on all foreign policy issues. That wa... ...the menu of strategic choices for the NSC ? Then we can delve into them. I kno... ...appointments were the deputies in the National Security Council —I mean, the deputy national securit... ...Homeland Security Council [HSC] and the National Security Council into one, and John oversaw the homelan... ...security. So we had a very strong NSC structure with very high-qualit... ...significance in melding the HSC and the NSC ? What was the thinking there? Well... ...you will, and a younger sibling to the National Security Council , and it wasn't as effective, as ... ...it increased the technical size of the National Security Council —which is a big debate that people wan... ...people want to have, about how big the National Security Council is. I'm not really interested in tha... Show more... Load more Transcripts Related Topics go to the LGBTQ Policy LGBTQ Policy go to the Education Education go to the Obama in the Senate Obama in the Senate go to the Chicago Chicago go to the Atlantic Relations Atlantic Relations