At the center of events — and often controversy

As national security adviser, retired Marine Gen. James Jones follows a line of men and women who have played central roles in shaping American policy only to find themselves dogged by controversy.

The National Security Council was created by Congress in 1947 to help coordinate security issues in the Cold War era. It is made up of key Cabinet members, including the secretaries of state and defense, and staffed by aides in the White House.

It was not until 1961 that President Kennedy authorized the modern-day position of national security adviser. He named McGeorge Bundy, a Harvard University dean, to the position, giving him direct access to daily intelligence reports and to the Oval Office.

I.M. “Mac” Destler, a professor at the University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy, said NSC advisers wield enormous power within the West Wing, even though they are not Cabinet officers and don’t have to be confirmed by the Senate.

“You are at the crossroads of all things going to the president,” Destler said.

Bundy helped resolve the Cuban missile crisis, but he also supported escalating the Vietnam War, a controversial conflict that he continued to champion when he was retained as security adviser by President Johnson. Bundy did not have a strong rapport with Johnson and resigned in 1966.

Among the best-known national security advisers was Henry Kissinger, who was appointed by President Nixon. Destler said that while Kissinger helped engineer many foreign policy successes, including Nixon’s visit to China, he and the secretive president shut out others from decision-making.

Some experts said the model national security adviser was Brent Scowcroft, who served in that position under Presidents Ford and George H.W. Bush. The low-key Scowcroft was able to coordinate major foreign undertakings, notably the first Gulf War, because he had the complete confidence of President Bush, according to James Jay Carafano, a national security expert at the conservative Heritage Foundation.

“When [Scowcroft] talked, he represented the views of the president and that was the end of it,” Carafano said.

President Clinton was elected largely on a domestic agenda, and his first national security adviser, Anthony Lake, did not have prominent role in the administration. But as Clinton became more comfortable with foreign policy in his second term, he worked closely with his subsequent security adviser, Samuel Berger, on Kosovo and other international flashpoints.

President George W. Bush’s first national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, was hampered by the intense rivalry in the Cabinet between Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell. She also was criticized for not ensuring that Bush received enough conflicting opinions about the wisdom of the invasion of Iraq, Destler said.

Destler said that Stephen Hadley, who has served as security adviser during Bush’s second term, was more successful in getting the president to consider differing viewpoints, which led to a re-evaluation of his Iraq strategy and the decision to send a surge of troops to Baghdad.