On February 13, 2001, George W. Bush, three weeks in the Oval Office, issued his first official White House document pertaining to national security. The document, called a National Security Presidential Directive (NSPD), partly reorganized the National Security Council, which had been established by President Truman in 1947 and put into the Executive Branch in 1949.
Bush’s NSPD memorandum is addressed to all members of the Cabinet, several economic advisors, White House personnel, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and some officials concerned with security—41 people in all, with the Vice President at the top of the list:
SUBJECT: Organization of the National Security Council System:
This document is the first in a series of National Security Presidential Directives. National Security Presidential Directives shall replace both Presidential Decision Directives and Presidential Review Directives as an instrument for communicating presidential decisions about the national security policies of the United States.
The NSPD redefined “security” with a heavier emphasis on economic matters:
National security includes the defense of the United States of America, protection of our constitutional system of government, and the advancement of [U.S.] interests around the globe. National security also depends on America’s opportunity...