Influenced dismissal of over half a dozen officials

Ledeen served as a consultant to the NSC during the Reagan administration, providing expertise on European and Middle Eastern affairs, including off-channel intelligence activities.

David Wurmser served as Senior Advisor to National Security Adviser John Bolton at the National Security Council from approximately December 2018 to September 2019. Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin reported in December 2018 that Wurmser 'showed up at the NSC' and was 'apparently working there in some capacity but the NSC 100% refuses to comment.' Wurmser was described as part of Bolton's 'shadow NSC' — a group of Bolton associates who influenced policy from outside formal channels. During this period, he wrote the memos advocating strikes against Soleimani and 'regime disruption' in Iran.

At the first emergency meeting of the National Security Council on September 11, 2001, Wolfowitz advocated targeting Iraq alongside al-Qaeda. When Rumsfeld asked 'Why shouldn't we go against Iraq, not just al-Qaeda?', Wolfowitz added that Iraq was 'a brittle, oppressive regime that might break easily -- it was doable.' Four days later, at Camp David, Wolfowitz formally argued for targeting Iraq, beginning his sustained campaign to redirect the post-9/11 response toward regime change in Baghdad.

Condoleezza Rice served at the National Security Council in two distinct periods. First, as Director of Soviet and East European Affairs (1989-1991) under Brent Scowcroft during the George H.W. Bush administration, she advised the president during the fall of the Berlin Wall, German reunification, and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Second, as National Security Advisor (2001-2005) under George W. Bush — the first woman to hold the position — she oversaw the NSC during the September 11 attacks, the invasion of Afghanistan, and the Iraq War. Her NSC tenure was defined by the 'mushroom cloud' rhetoric, the August 6, 2001 PDB controversy, and the Principals Committee decisions on enhanced interrogation.