Presidential Directives on National Security, Part II: From Truman to George W. Bush Presidential Directives on National Security, Part II: From Truman to George W. Bush Access information: Access on and off campus. Description: Part II of the Archive’s growing collection of presidential directives, this set contains more than 1,836 of the highest-level documents issued by presidents from Harry S. Truman to George W. Bush concerning foreign affairs, defence and arms control policy, intelligence and counterterrorist activities, and international economic policy. Thanks to a long-standing Freedom of Information Act campaign by the National Security Archive, the two parts of this collection comprise every presidential directive released to date. (All of the documents in Part II became available after the publication of Part I.) Unlike the daily stream of White House proclamations and press releases that are designed to frame official policy for the public, these directives and requests for studies reflect each president's actual, behind-the-scenes priorities, goals and decisions. Coverage: 1945-2008. This article was published on 2024-08-21
