NSC 10/2 directive

E92859

Cold War policy document United States national security directive

The NSC 10/2 directive was a 1948 U.S. National Security Council order that authorized and defined covert operations abroad, laying the foundation for early Cold War clandestine activities.

Aliases (3)

NSC 10/2 ×1
NSC 4-A directive ×1
National Security Council directive NSC 10/2 ×1

Statements (50)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Cold War policy document → United States national security directive →
aimedAt	Union of Soviet Socialist Republics NERFINISHED → international communist movement →
approvedBy	Harry S. Truman →
approvedByOffice	President of the United States →
assignedTo	Central Intelligence Agency →
authorizes	covert operations abroad →
authorizingBody	United States National Security Council →
classifiedStatus	Top Secret →
country	United States →
createdBody	NSC 10/2 panel →
createdFor	Office of Policy Coordination →
dateAdopted	1948-06-18 →
definedAs	activities conducted so that U.S. government responsibility is not evident or acknowledged →
definedTerm	covert operations →
defines	United States covert operations abroad →
established	Office of Policy Coordination →
excludedActivities	armed conflict by recognized military forces →
followedBy	NSC 10/5 directive →
historicalContext	early Cold War →
implementedBy	Central Intelligence Agency → Office of Policy Coordination →
includedActivities	demolition → economic warfare → preventive direct action → propaganda → sabotage → subversion → support of guerrillas → support of refugee liberation groups → support of resistance movements →
inForceFrom	1948-06-18 →
inForceUntil	superseded by later NSC directives on covert operations →
legalBasisFor	CIA covert action programs → early Cold War clandestine activities →
mandatedCoordinationWith	Department of Defense → Department of State →
oversightBy	Director of Central Intelligence → Secretary of Defense → Secretary of State →
precededBy	NSC 4-A directive →
purpose	to conduct covert operations against hostile foreign states and groups → to counter Soviet and communist influence during the early Cold War →
replaced	NSC 4-A directive →
scope	worldwide outside the United States →
subject	Cold War foreign policy → covert operations → psychological warfare →
yearAdopted	1948 →

Referenced by (4)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Office of Policy Coordination → Office of Policy Coordination ("NSC 10/2") →	legalBasis
Office of Policy Coordination ("National Security Council directive NSC 10/2") →	createdBy
NSC 10/2 directive ("NSC 4-A directive") →	precededBy