Editing National security directive (section)

==Names for national security directives by administration==
Presidents have issued such directives under various names.
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
! scope="col" |Initials
! scope="col" |Full title
! scope="col" |Time frame
! scope="col" |Presidential administration(s)
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| NSCID
| National Security Council Intelligence Directive
| 1947–1977
| [[Harry S. Truman|Truman]]–[[Gerald Ford|Ford]]
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| NSAM
| National Security Action Memorandum
| 1961–1969
| [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]] and [[Lyndon Johnson|Johnson]]
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| NSSM
| National Security Study Memorandum
| 1969–1977
| [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]] and Ford
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| NSDM
| National Security Decision Memorandum
| 1969–1977
| Nixon and Ford
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| PRM
| Presidential Review Memorandum
| 1977–1981
| [[Jimmy Carter|Carter]]
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| PD
| Presidential Directive
| 1977–1981
| Carter
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| NSSD
| National Security Study Directive
| 1981–1989
| [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]]
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| NSDD
| National Security Decision Directive
| 1981–1989
| Reagan
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| NSR
| National Security Review
| 1989–1993
| [[George H. W. Bush|G. H. W. Bush]]
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| NSD
| National Security Directive
| 1989–1993
| G. H. W. Bush
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| PRD
| Presidential Review Directive
| 1993–2001
| [[Bill Clinton|Clinton]]
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| PDD
| Presidential Decision Directive
| 1993–2001
| Clinton
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| NSPD
| National Security Presidential Directive
| 2001–2009
| [[George W. Bush|G. W. Bush]]
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| PSD
| Presidential Study Directive
| 2009–2017
| [[Barack Obama|Obama]]
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| PPD
| Presidential Policy Directive
| 2009–2017
| Obama
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| NSPM
| National Security Presidential Memorandum
| 2017–2021
| [[Donald Trump|Trump]]
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| NSSM
| National Security Study Memorandum
| 2021–present
| [[Joe Biden|Biden]]
|-
!scope="row" style="text-align:center"| NSM
| National Security Memorandum
| 2021–present
| Biden
|-
|}

===Truman and Eisenhower administrations===
National security directives were quite different in the early period of the [[Cold War]]. A 1988 [[General Accounting Office]] (GAO) investigation into national security directives left out the directives from the Truman and Eisenhower years because "they were not structured in a way to allow categorization."{{sfn|General Accounting Office|1988|page=1}} The study nevertheless made note of two types of directives. The first was "policy papers" which ''could'' contain policy recommendations, in which case the president might decide to approve the policy by writing his signature.{{sfn|General Accounting Office|1988|page=2}} A famous example of such a policy paper is [[NSC 68]]. GAO also noted another type of directive called "NSC Actions", which were "numbered records of decisions that were reached at NSC meetings.{{sfn|General Accounting Office|1988|page=2}}

===Kennedy and Johnson administrations===
The [[Kennedy administration]] which took office in 1961 reorganized the NSC and began issuing National Security Action Memoranda (NSAMs).{{sfn|Dwyer|2002|page=412}} Many NSAMs were signed in Kennedy's name by [[National Security Advisor (United States)|National Security Advisor]] [[McGeorge Bundy]], although Kennedy sometimes signed them personally.<ref>{{cite book|last=Prados|first=John|title=Safe for Democracy: The Secret Wars of the CIA|date=2006|publisher=Ivan R. Dee|isbn=9781615780112|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=3OCDelYICIsC&pg=PA8 8]|language=en}}</ref> [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] continued issuing NSAMs where Kennedy left off, although issuing only 99 directives as compared to Kennedy's 273.{{sfn|General Accounting Office|1988|page=4}}

===Reagan administration===
A 1986 National Security Decision Directive gave the [[United States Department of State|State Department]] authority and responsibility to coordinate responses to international terrorism across government agencies including the [[CIA]], [[United States Department of Defense|DoD]], and [[FBI]]. This was intended to reduce interagency conflicts which were observed in the response to the [[Achille Lauro hijacking|hijacking of the ''Achille Lauro'']] cruise ship.<ref>Johnson, Larry C. 2005. [http://www.globalsecurity.org/security/library/congress/2005_h/050512-johnson.pdf Terrorism: Why the Numbers Matter].</ref> The State Department's [[Bureau of Counterterrorism]] continues this coordinating function.