# Have I made this up? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 4, 2007, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-this-up/406739 "2007-06-04T19:00:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CJOK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@CJOK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJOK)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-this-up/406739/1 "2007-06-04T19:00:54Z")
Can anyone verify whether or not the following quoted text exists anywhere, other than in a work of fiction. I can remember coming across it in a book I read a long time ago , and the implications of its message made me copy it into a notebook. Here it goes; "Directive NSC 10/2 June 1948 “Activities had to be so carefully planned and carried out that any U.S.Government responsibility for them is not evident to unauthorized persons, and if uncovered, the U.S.Government can plausibly disclaim any responsibility for them.” I am fairly certain that the book it came from was not wrote by the likes of John Le Carre or Robert Ludlum. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2007, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-this-up/406739/2 "2007-06-04T19:31:35Z")
Looks legit. Full text here: [http://cryptome.org/ic-black4701.htm](http://cryptome.org/ic-black4701.htm) (scroll down to 292. National Security Council Directive on Office of Special Projects) ---
**Author:** ![CJOK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@CJOK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJOK)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2007, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-this-up/406739/3 "2007-06-05T01:12:01Z")
[QUOTE=steronz] Looks legit. Full text here: > **[State Department Note on U.S. Covert Actions](https://cryptome.org/ic-black4701.htm)** (scroll down to 292. National Security Council Directive on Office of Special Projects) [/QUOTE] ``` Now how did you know where to find that Steronz? I admit my own attempts ``` at researching its origin were fairly inadequate [I tried to Google it…to no avail], but still, I`m impressed and very grateful ``` Cheers ``` p.s. one minor quibble tho`. What do you mean , "Looks" legit? Either it is or it is n`t, is n`t it? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2007, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-this-up/406739/4 "2007-06-05T01:17:12Z")
[QUOTE=CJOK] p.s. one minor quibble tho`. What do you mean , "Looks" legit? Either it is or it is n`t, is n`t it? [/QUOTE] Plausible deniability. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2007, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-this-up/406739/5 "2007-06-05T01:19:22Z")
I started by googling “NSC 10/2”, and quickly saw that most of the relevant hits used “NSC-10/2” instead, so I googled that and found the title, “National Security Council Directive on Office of Special Projects,” so I combined that with “NSC-10/2” and it was somewhere on there. I say it looks legit because I didn’t dig long enough to find it hosted on an official government website… I don’t know if it’s been released into the public record or just leaked, but I figured at that point that I had at least answered your question, that is, it’s not from a work of fiction. ---
**Author:** ![CJOK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@CJOK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJOK)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2007, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-this-up/406739/6 "2007-06-05T02:30:21Z")
[QUOTE=steronz] I started by googling “NSC 10/2”, and quickly saw that most of the relevant hits used “NSC-10/2” instead, so I googled that and found the title, “National Security Council Directive on Office of Special Projects,” so I combined that with “NSC-10/2” and it was somewhere on there. I say it looks legit because I didn’t dig long enough to find it hosted on an official government website… I don’t know if it’s been released into the public record or just leaked, but I figured at that point that I had at least answered your question, that is, it’s not from a work of fiction. [/QUOTE] Well, I may not have made up the quote steronz, but I must have imagined the “Googling it to no avail” bit! I`ve just tried it[again?], and I am amazed how many references there are to it. Honest, I could have swore when I tried it, nothing came up! Saying that, when I was trying to access this post earlier, my laptop switched itself off 3 times while I was trying to type a reply!! Now, what`s that all about, eh? Spooky or not, it`s not half as scary as the implications of that Directive. If they were thinking like that back in `48, how much more devious are they going to be now? ---
**Author:** ![CJOK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@CJOK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CJOK)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2007, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-i-made-this-up/406739/7 "2007-06-05T11:01:13Z")
[QUOTE=CJOK] Well, I may not have made up the quote steronz, but I must have imagined the “Googling it to no avail” bit! I`ve just tried it[again?], and I am amazed how many references there are to it. Honest, I could have swore when I tried it, nothing came up! Saying that, when I was trying to access this post earlier, my laptop switched itself off 3 times while I was trying to type a reply!! Now, what`s that all about, eh? Spooky or not, it`s not half as scary as the implications of that Directive. If they were thinking like that back in `48, how much more devious are they going to be now? [/QUOTE] Answer. Lots!