An important part of its mandate was to act as the president's coordinating committee for the most incendiary secret foreign policy actions, such as covert operations.
[2] The board's membership was to include the Under Secretary of State, who was to chair the board, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the Director of the Foreign Operations Administration, the Director of Central Intelligence, and the President's Special Assistant for Psychological Warfare.
Also authorized to attend were the President's Special Assistant for National Security Affairs and the Director of the United States Information Agency.
[3] The OCB was originally a separate body, but became an official part of the NSC with Eisenhower's issuance of Executive Order 10700 in 1957.
[4] The Operations Coordinating Board was abolished by President Kennedy on February 19, 1961 because it was thought that secret wars should not be overseen by so many officials.