The Post of U.S. Secretary of State is Part of the Foreign Policy Team, Not the National Security Team

I keep hearing that the Secretary of State is the head of the President's national security team. With all due respect, no it isn't. The Secretary of State is the head of the President's foreign policy team.

The head(s) of the actual national security team are the Homeland Security Director, the National Intelligence Director, and the Secretary of Defense.

The Secretary of State is the President's chief foreign diplomat.

The National Security Council, of which the Secretary of State is a member, also includes the President, Vice President, Secretary of Defense, and the National Security Adviser as well as other departments as needed. The President is the chair of this council.

The President uses the National Security Council to get the experts in their various departments to come up with a comprehensive national security and foreign policy. Once the President decides, the Secretary of State executes the diplomacy, while the other departments execute their own part of the plan.

So it's quite confusing when the media portrays the post of Secretary of State as something other than it is.