U.S. National Security Council member Oliver North then began drafting a National Security Decision Directive (NSDD) that authorized covert operations that were intended to "neutralize" terrorists. This prompted some discussion as to the directive's legality vis-a-vis Executive Order 12333, which proscribed "assassination." While the neutralization terminology was ultimately scrapped in the signed NSDD 138, the directive nevertheless marked a significant shift in U.S. security policy in that it explicitly articulated America's right to defend itself against terrorists.[8]