ENCYCLOPEDIA OF Espionage, Intelligence, and Security Volume ...

Communications System, United States NationalSEE ALSOBiological Warfare, Advanced DiagnosticsBiological Weapons, Genetic IdentificationBioshield ProjectBioterrorismBioterrorism, Protective MeasuresCDC (United States Centers for Disease Control andPrevention)Public Health Service (PHS), United States❚ JUDSON KNIGHTCommunications System,United States NationalThe United States National Communications System (NCS)brings together representatives of numerous governmentdepartments, using a wide variety of technologies, toprovide a single, integrated communications network inthe interests of national security. Created in 1962, whenCold War tensions highlighted the need for reliable intraandinternational communication, NCS underwent significantchanges in 1984, but its core mission—to provide forthe communication needs of the president and the nationalsecurity apparatus—has not altered significantly.The “Red Telephone” and the reality of NCS. One of the greatfixtures of American national-security lore in the modernera is the “Red Telephone.” According to legend, thispiece of equipment is exactly what its name implies:presumably an ordinary-looking phone colored a standardshade of red—but with a key difference. As it isdepicted in movies and the popular imagination, the RedTelephone has no dial or buttons, because it is designedfor communication between two sites only: the Oval Officeand the Kremlin. In a moment of grave national danger, sothe legend goes, the president of the United States picksup the Red Telephone and is instantly connected to hiscounterpart in Moscow.The Red Telephone, in fact, is a figment of overactiveimaginations. There is no Red Telephone, per se; rather,the president communicates with world leaders throughvarious secure lines, which are maintained by NCS. Thelatter organization—and, perhaps, the myth of the RedTelephone itself—emerged from a period when the UnitedStates came as close as it ever would to nuclear war withthe Soviet Union.Early history. During the two weeks of the Cuban MissileCrisis in October 1962, as President John F. Kennedy spenta great deal of time communicating with Soviet GeneralSecretary Nikita Khrushchev, as well as with other worldpolitical and military leaders. Faulty communications technologythreatened to further complicate interchanges,and thus exacerbate tensions, a situation that promptedKennedy to action after the crisis subsided.The president ordered a study of available securitycommunication capabilities. Subsequently an interdepartmentalcommittee, formed by the National Security Council(NSC), conducted this investigation. The committeerecommended the creation of unified system designed toserve the security communication needs of the presidentand other top political, military, national security, anddiplomatic figures. As a result, Kennedy established NCSby a presidential directive signed on August 21, 1963.Its initial mandate called on NCS to link, improve, andextend the communications technology and capabilitiesof the relevant federal agencies and departments, with afocus on interconnectivity and the ability to survive rupturesin the communication system. It was a bold missionat a time when telephones had dials, few homes had morethan one phone (let alone more than one phone line), andfew offices possessed any equipment other than a phoneand a typewriter. For the next two decades, the systemcontinued on the model set for it in the early 1960s; then,on April 3, 1984, President Ronald Reagan greatly alteredits structure with Executive Order (E.O.) 12472.NCS participants and NS/EP responsibilities. Under the termsof E.O. 12472, NCS grew from six member agencies anddepartments to 22, and set about coordinating nationalsecurity and emergency preparedness (NS/EP) plans toprovide communications in the event of crisis or disaster.Today NCS works with all the departments of the federalgovernment, as well as the Central Intelligence, NationalSecurity, and Federal Emergency Management agencies;the Joint Staff; the General Services, National Aeronauticsand Space, and National Telecommunications and Informationadministrations; the Nuclear Regulatory and FederalCommunications commissions; the Federal ReserveBoard; and the United States Postal service.A particularly notable example of a department withcritical NS/EP responsibilities is the Department of Defense(DoD). Among the telecommunications assets it overseesare the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) computernetwork; the Direct Communications Link (the Washington-Moscowhotline that constitutes the real-life “RedTelephone”), the Defense Satellite Communications System;the Worldwide Military Command and Control System;and several others.Along with the other 21 members, DoD is representedon NCS through the Committee for National Security andEmergency Preparedness. The committee, formerly knownas the NCS Committee of Principals, was established byE.O. 12472, and renamed October 2001 according to E.O.13231, “Critical Infrastructure Protection in the InformationAge.” In late 2002, NCS was slated for inclusion in thenew Department of Homeland Security.252 Encyclopedia of Espionage, Intelligence, and Security