Editorial Note
On August 14, James S. Lay, Jr., Executive Secretary of the National Security Council, transmitted to the NSC copies of NSC 161, “Status of U.S. Programs for National Security as of June 30, 1953”. This nearly 1,000-page report was composed of 11 separate papers and an annex. The 11 papers were: (1) “Our Relations with the Free World” drafted by the Department of State, (2) “The Military Program” drafted by the Department of Defense, (3) “The Mutual Security Program” prepared by the Office of the Director for Mutual Security, (4) “The Atomic Energy Program” prepared by the Atomic Energy Commission, (5) “The Mobilization Program” prepared by the Office of Defense Mobilization, (6) “The Stockpiling Program” drafted by the Office of Defense Mobilization, (7) “The Civil Defense Program” prepared by the Federal Civil Defense Administration, (8) “The Psychological Program” prepared by the Psychological Strategy Board, (9) “The Foreign Intelligence Program” prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency and concurred in by the Intelligence Advisory Committee, (10) “The Internal Security Program” prepared jointly by the Interdepartmental Intelligence Conference and the Interdepartmental Committee on Internal Security, and (11) “The Fiscal and Budgetary Outlook” drafted jointly by the Department of the Treasury and the Bureau of the Budget. The Annex, “Some Comparable Data on the Soviet Bloc”, was prepared by the CIA. A copy of NSC 161, along with accompanying documentation, is in S/S–NSC files, lot 63 D 351, NSC 161 Series.