Presidential Decision Directives (PDDs)

Issued by the president of the United States, types of executive orders for which different presidents have used a variety of names. The Truman and Eisenhower administrations issued National Security Council policy papers, which made policy recommendations on various topics pertaining to U.S. security. A less formal [Page 594]system was initiated by the Kennedy administration, and both John F. Kennedy and his successor Lyndon B. Johnson referred to them as National Security Action Memoranda (NSAMs).

Later, Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford called them National Security Decision Memoranda (NSDMs), and the system put in place by the Nixon administration served as the model for the Ford, Carter, and Reagan administrations, as well. This system functioned according to the issuance of two series of documents: study directives and decision directives. Study directives were commissioned by the National Security Council or other government agencies to carry out studies to produce data to be used in decision making. Decision directives served the purpose of stating the decision made on the basis of the study directives, and allocated tasks to specific agencies for implementation.

Jimmy Carter used the name Presidential Directives (PDs), and Ronald Reagan called them National Security Decision Directives (NSDDs). President George H. W. Bush called them National Security Directives (NSDs), and Bill Clinton used the title Presidential Decision Directives (PDDs). George W. Bush uses the term National Security Presidential Directives (NSPDs). The Presidential Decision Directives are issued with the advice and consent of the National Security Council, and because they pertain to vital areas of national security, they are often classified.

Different administrations have relied to greater and lesser degrees on Presidential Decision Directives for formulating national-security policy. The Carter and George H. W. Bush administrations produced a relatively small number (63 and 79, respectively), at a rate of 16 to 20 per year, in contrast to the Nixon, Ford, and Reagan administrations, which produced more than 40 per year.

Although Presidential Decision Directives do not account for all aspects of executive policy, they do provide a timeline of the major issues dealt with by various administrations. For example, National Security Action Memorandum No. 271, issued by the Kennedy administration, referred to “Cooperation with the USSR on Outer Space Matters.” Later, National Security Study Directive 5-83, issued by the Reagan administration, was concerned with the development by NASA of a permanently manned space station. Presidential Review Directive NSTC-3, “Global Positioning System Policy Review,” issued by the Clinton administration, paved the way for commercial and civilian use of the Global Positioning System (GPS).

The subject and uses of Presidential Decision Directives thus change and evolve in response to current events. Presidential Directive NSC-63, issued by the Carter administration, on the Persian Gulf security framework, was a response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the Iran-Iraq War. The purpose was to account for the numerical superiority of Soviet forces in the region by making the Soviet Union aware that it would face economic and diplomatic sanctions if it intervened. Moreover, it declared: “An attempt by any outside force to gain control of the Persian Gulf region will be regarded as an assault on the vital interests of the United States. It will be repelled by any means necessary, including military force.”

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