Editing National security directive (section)

{{Short description|Classified instructions from the US president}}
[[Image:nsdd.jpg|thumb|right|200px|National Security Decision Directive 114, signed by [[Ronald Reagan]]]]

'''National security directives''' are [[presidential directive]]s issued for the [[United States National Security Council|National Security Council]] (NSC). Starting with [[Harry Truman]], every president since the founding of the National Security Council in 1947 has issued national security directives in one form or another,{{sfn|Dwyer|2002|loc=Abstract}} which have involved foreign, military and domestic policies.{{sfn|General Accounting Office|1988|loc=Background}} National security directives are generally highly classified{{sfnm|1a1=General Accounting Office|1y=1992|1p=3|2a1=Dwyer|2y=2002|2p=411|3a1=Relyea|3y=2008|3p=9}} and are available to the public only after "a great many years" have elapsed.{{sfn|Relyea|2008|p=9}} Unlike [[Executive order (United States)|executive orders]], national security directives are usually directed only to the National Security Council and the most senior executive branch officials, and embody foreign and military policy-making guidance rather than specific instructions.{{sfn|General Accounting Office|1992|p=1}}