Trickle-Down Coordination: The National Security Advisor’s Role as the Strategic and Operational Planner of the DoD-DoS Interagency Relationship

Forging a coherent U.S. foreign policy requires the competent management of the inter-agency framework. Defining strategy at the cabinet level and ensuring its implementation at the operational level, the National Security Advisor must act as an honest broker of the inter-agency process. This article will examine the role of three National Security Advisors from the Nixon, Carter and George W. Bush administrations, and study two examples of operational success and failure, highlighting the importance of the strategic-operational link. The author concludes by recommending a National Security Council (NSC)-led inter-agency framework that drives consensus-based strategic planning and mandates operational coordination through a unified Department of Defense (DoD)-Department of State (DoS) command structure both during and after hostilities.