The Similarities Between Bush And Obama Administrations

Abstract

In the aftermath of the September 2001 attacks, the United States faced a series of ever-growing threats forcing the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations to rely heavily on their National Security Councils. Both administrations sought to meet the demands of new and emerging threats through structural changes to their councils, as well as the positioning of key figures to drive the different administrations national security and defense strategy forward. This paper will seek to discern the similarities, differences, strengths, and weakness between the National Security Counsels of the Bush and Obama administrations. It will further sever to identify the best aspects to propose what the current administrations NSC should

The first major changes occurred during the Kennedy administration when it became apparent the President favored a small group of close-knit advisors akin to an action group, dismantling the regimented and hierarchical systems established during the previous administrations (The Kennedy and Johnson Years - National Security Council, n.d.). During the Nixon and Ford administrations, the NSC began to grow following efforts by National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger to assume greater control over foreign policy through inter-departmental working groups and the hiring of additional professionals and clerks (The Kissinger Years - Presidential Advisers,

The role of the Vice President in both councils saw stark differences. In the Bush Administration, Vice President Dick Cheney was empowered to a point of being viewed as “the architect of virtually every significant initiative of the administration” (Goldstein, 2008). Cheney also used leveraged his political allies to create a separate security staff and alternative line of communication to shape policy and actively sought to expand executive power to pursue his own personal national security initiatives (Stevenson,