Power without Constraint: The Post-9/11 Presidency and National Security

by Chris Edelson

Overview

As a presidential candidate, Barack Obama criticized the George W. Bush administration for its unrestrained actions in matters of national security. Yet President Obama has not fulfilled candidate Obama's promise to restore the rule of law and make a clean break with his predecessor.

In Power without Constraint Chris Edelson offers a thorough, extensive comparison of the Bush and Obama administrations' national security policies, arguing that both have asserted more executive authority than previous presidents. He examines once-secret Justice Department memos in which President Bush's officials claimed for the executive branch plenary unilateral authority to use military force in response to threats of terrorism, as well as the power to set aside laws made by Congress, even criminal laws prohibiting torture and warrantless surveillance. He acknowledges that President Obama and his officials have not claimed the authority to set aside criminal laws, relying on softer rhetoric and toned-down legal arguments to advance their policies. But, in key areas—military action, surveillance, and state secrets—they have simply found new ways to assert power without meaningful constitutional or statutory constraints.

Edelson contends that this legacy of the two immediately post-9/11 presidencies raises crucial questions for future presidents, Congress, the courts, and American citizens. Where is the political will to restore a balance of powers among branches of government and adherence to the rule of law? What are the limits of authority regarding presidential national security power? Have national security concerns created a permanent shift to unconstrained presidential power?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780299307400
Publisher:	University of Wisconsin Press
Publication date:	05/11/2016
Edition description:	1
Pages:	242
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Chris Edelson is assistant professor of government in the School of Public Affairs and a fellow with the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies, both at American University. He is the author of Emergency Presidential Power: From the Drafting of the Constitution to the War on Terror, which was awarded the Crader Family Book Prize in American Values.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
 
Section I
1 The Constitution and Presidential National Security Power
2 Presidential National Security Power before September 11, 2001
 
Section II
3 The George W. Bush Administration and National Security Power
4 The Bush Administration and the Use of Military Force
5 The Bush Administration and Surveillance
6 The Bush Administration and Military Detention
7 The Bush Administration and Torture
8 The Bush Administration and Secrecy
 
Section III
9 The Barack Obama Administration and National Security Power
10 The Obama Administration and the Use of Military Force
11 The Obama Administration and Surveillance
12 The Obama Administration and Military Detention

Editorial Reviews

"A clear and powerfully argued direct comparison of the policies and rhetoric of George W. Bush and Barack Obama, demonstrating that they are more alike than different in their approaches to combating terrorism."—Michael A. Genovese, author of The Power of the American Presidency —Jameel Jaffer,deputy legal director, American Civil Liberties Union


"An ambitious, impressive historical and constitutional analysis of national security power in the presidencies of George W. Bush and Barack Obama." —Mitchel A. Sollenberger,coauthor of The President's Czars


"Edelson underscores the damage done to constitutional government by presidential initiatives. Scholars often define presidential power broadly without paying attention to basic principles of law and self-government. To his credit, Edelson keeps those fundamental values in clear focus." —Louis Fisher,the Constitution Project


"A comprehensive, accessible study of presidential power in the twenty-first century. Edelson demonstrates why scholars of constitutional development must include all three branches, both political parties, and institutional sources. Rigorous and compelling." —Jasmine Farrier,University of Louisville


"A must-read for lovers of liberty and the rule of law, and for anyone else who is serious about understanding the dire reality the Republic is confronting because of executive prerogative."
—Congress & the Presidency

From the Publisher

2016-03-08
Edelson (Government/American Univ.; Emergency Presidential Power: From the Drafting of the Constitution to the War on Terror, 2013) raises troubling questions about the Barack Obama administration. The author, who specializes in constitutional history, points to President Obama's failure to put his money where his mouth was during the 2008 election campaign when he refused to hold accountable those who had violated both domestic and international law during the administration of George W. Bush. Edelson faults Obama for failing to seriously challenge the arbitrary willfulness of rule by presidential prerogative, which violates both the Founders' intent and the Constitution's allocation of the president's powers. This failure, writes the author, may encourage future presidents in the belief they can "safely set aside laws." Obama did follow through on his opposition to torture when he issued an executive order banning the practice and reaffirmed the authority of the Army's field manuals. However, he failed to hold anyone accountable for breaches. Not doing so, Edelson argues, "is itself a failure to impose limits on presidential power." Furthermore, the absence of enforcement has "effectively vindicated" the prior administration's prerogative-based argument that it could authorize and carry out torture with impunity. The author compares the Obama administration's words and actions to the institutional guidelines created by the Bush administration, and in no area has there been fundamental change. An administration dedicated to transparency has used secrecy consistently to protect itself from scrutiny by the court system or press, and Congress has acquiesced. Charges have not been brought against those who carried out torture, nor have investigations been launched to find the truth. Among present legal experts, Edelson references those who suggest, "under Obama, as under Bush, ours is no longer a government under law. It is a government of options," adopted at presidential whim. A powerful warning about the future of constitutional government and an indictment of the ways it has been undermined in the recent past.

Kirkus Reviews