40 Committee

To approve and coordinate most covert operations, (some were required to be approved by the President) NSC 5412 established what became known as the 5412 Committee, also given the nonspecific title, the Special Group, to reduce chances of exposure. (In 1964, after the term "Special Group" became known, the Group was called the 303 Committee. In 1970, it was renamed the 40 Committee.) The 5412 Committee and its successors consisted of the Deputy Under Secretary of State, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the President's Special Assistant for National Security Affairs, and the Director of the CIA, with the latter serving as the Group's "action officer." In 1957, the Chairman of the JCS also became a member. Covert action projects usually originate in the Clandestine Services branch of CIA, and are approved by the 40 Committee, an inter- departmental committee of five members. Generally the appropriate intelligence analysts in the CIA and country desk officers in the State Department are not consulted or informed . Any disagreement within the bureaucracy is closely guarded and severely restricted . Finally, a covert policy simply avoids Congressional and public discussion.