(2010-0939-F) Presidential Decision Directive 26 (PDD/NSC-26)

The materials in FOIA 2010-0939-F are a selective body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Presidential Decision Directive 26 (PDD/NSC-26) was originally released as part of FOIA request 2010-1225-F. Of relation is Presidential Review Directive 23 (PRD/NSC-23), U.S. Policy on Extraterritorial Application of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) which was also released in 2010-1225-F. Researchers should consult the archivist about related materials. The original request was for not only Presidential Decision Directive 26 (PDD/NSC-26) but the records related to the drafting of PDD-26. The resulting collection provides, in brief, a broad view of the development of Arctic and Antarctic policy during the Clinton Administration. The materials contained in this collection are not a comprehensive exploration of U.S. Arctic and Antarctic policy during the Clinton Administration. Included in this collection are correspondence related to the drafting of Presidential Decision Directive 26 (PDD-26). Also included are a selection of materials related to the drafting of PRD-23 and also the Interagency Working Group formed as a result of PRD-12 and the responses to PRD-12. It includes correspondence and materials from the public, public advocacy groups, and non-governmental organizations related also to the drafting of both PDD-26 and PRD/NSC-23. For a number of years U.S. policy on the Arctic and Antarctic was largely driven by treaty or by statute. Indeed, U. S. policy toward the Arctic and Antarctic was largely concerned with Antarctic policy; though the United States became a member of the Arctic community with the purchase of Alaska in 1867. The beginning of the Cold War increased the importance of Antarctica and the Arctic in American policy. Following the formation of the National Security Council, Antarctic and Arctic policy fell to their purview as advisors to the President. President Eisenhower had no Arctic policy but had four National Security Council (NSC) policy statements on Antarctica: NSC 5424/1 (1954), NSC 5715/1 (1957), NSC 5804/1 (1958), and NSC 5905/1 (1959). Presidents Kennedy and Johnson had no Arctic or Antarctic policy statements from the NSC. President Nixon had two National Security Decision Memorandum (NSDM) statements on Antarctica. The first—NSDM 71—dealing with the operation of Antarctic research by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the second—NSDM 263—asking for a report on the possible exploration and exploitation of Antarctic mineral resources. Nixon was the first President to specifically address policy for the Arctic region. Nixon’s NSDM 144, released December 22, 1971, ordered the formation of an Interagency Arctic Policy Group. It also stated that the United States will support “sound and rational development of the Arctic, guided by the principal of minimizing any adverse effects to the environment; mutually beneficial international cooperation in the Arctic; and will at the same time provide for the protection of essential security interests…, including preservation of the principal of the freedom of the seas and superjacent airspace.” These three platforms became the foundation for future United States Arctic policy. President Reagan issued National Security Decision Directive (NSDD) 90 on April 14, 1983, which superseded NSDM 144. Though it superseded, Reagan’s policy was not that different. The new policy stated that the region deserved “priority attention by the United States” and set forth four primary areas of interest. These four areas included national security, international cooperation, environmental protection, and scientific research. Less than a month after taking office, President Clinton announced the formation of the White House Office of Environmental Policy. At that announcement on February 8, 1993, Clinton noted, “We have been working hard now for more than 2 months to determine…how we could integrate the environment, for the first time…into national security policy, national economic policy, and other domestic policies.” In conjunction, the National Security Council issued Presidential Review Directive 12 (PRD/NSC-12). The PRD ordered a comprehensive review of environmental policies. Two responses to PRD-12, one on the Arctic and one on Antarctica were issued. Like NSDM 144, these responses to PRD-12 formed the foundation for the Clinton administration’s formulation of updated arctic policy. Soon after the issuance of PRD-12 and during the study period for the responses, the Administration decided not to file a petition for rehearing in Environmental Defense Fund v. Walter E. Massey (986 F.2d 586) in the Court of Appeals for the District Columbia Circuit. This decision by Chief Judge Abner Mikva forced the Administration to re-examine the extraterritorial application of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, especially as it related to Antarctica. As the Administration was drafting a response to PRD-12 they were simultaneously drafting PRD-23, U.S. Policy on Extraterritorial Application of the National Environmental Policy Act, which further informed environmental policy toward Antarctica and the Arctic. Taking from the decisions made in PRD-12 and PRD-23, the Clinton Administration drafted PDD-26. This new statement on U.S. Arctic and Antarctic policy superseded Reagan’s NSDD 90. PDD-23 set forth six principal objectives toward the Arctic. It maintained the four primary policy areas of both Reagan and Nixon, yet it refocused the policy toward environmental protection. Additionally it greatly broke with prior policy in recognizing the need for the Arctic’s indigenous people to have a role in decisions which affect them. As a combined statement of policy it also included four objectives related to Antarctica. These objectives focused on preserving Antarctica as a peaceful area for scientific research and for protecting the environment. It also advocated for conservation and sustainable management of the ocean resources around Antarctica. Presidential Decision Directive/NSC-26 was released June 9, 1994 and the official Arctic and Antarctic policy statement was released by the Department of State in September of that year. This policy remained in effect until President George W. Bush issued National Security Presidential Directive 66 (NSPD/HSPD-66) on January 9, 2009. NSPD 66 superseded PDD-26 as it relates to the Arctic. NSPD 66 did not address Antarctic policy.