AP Government Blog Post

Article: The Imperial Presidency

Vocabulary Terms: 1. Vice President: The person, chosen by the president, who is 2nd in line to the Presidency. His responsibilities include (and are limited to) breaking ties in the Senate and becoming president in the event that the current president dies or leaves office. a. Although the Vice President does not usually heavily influence the President and his decisions (as that job is typically left up to the Chief of Staff), VP Dick Cheney exerted a large amount of influence on President George W. Bush. 2. Mid-term elections: Congressional elections that are held at the point directly between the beginning and end of a presidents term in office. They are typically used to show the presidents popularity among the public. a. The mid-term elections of 2006 showed a public decrease in popularity for George W. Bush. The Senate took 6 democratic seats and the House took 31. Part of this change in popularity was due to Bushs handling of the War in Iraq. 3. Executive Agreements: An informal power in which the President can force a treaty without consent from the Senate. This is checked by Checks and Balances because it expires when the President leaves office, and it does not have to be funded by Congress. a. Although Presidents G.W. Bush and Clinton did not make executive agreements, this would have added to their already-expanded power in the international arena.

Summary: This article describes the continually increasing power of the President in foreign affairs and wars. It explains how the Constitution original gave Congress most of the formal power in dealing with international disputes (ability to declare war, ratify treaties, raise and support armies, etc.) so the Founding Fathers intended to limit the power of the President in this area. However, presidents (specifically, Clinton and George W. Bush) have been not only abusing their informal powers by justifying the use of military force with UN resolutions, but also doing so at the silent compliance of Congress. The article details how these two specific presidents used UN Security Council Resolutions such as Resolution 678 and 1373 to expand their influence in foreign affairs such as the War in Afghanistan and the Iraq War. Evaluation: "The Imperial Presidency" was a very interesting and informative article. Personally, I am disappointed in the Presidents who have abused their power (which they weren't even supposed to have in the first place) and in Congress for silently complying with these abuses. We somehow managed to plow through 3 wars between Clinton and the 2 Bush presidents without Congress actually declaring war once, which is a power reserved specifically for the Senate (for a reason). We learned in AP Government that the power of the President increases and expands during a crisis (such as 9/11 or the American Civil War (Lincoln suspending the write of habeas corpus)). The fact that presidents have gained the ability to effectively wage war on a country without the consent of Congress means that his already large amount of informal power has just been taken to the international level. However, while Congress has not actually declared war since World War II, it has authorized the presidents use of force in both the War in Afghanistan

and the Iraq War by passing specific resolutions, which is why this article is partially flawed (I think Cairo believed that Congress never had a say in it). However, while Congress did have a say in it, it was no different from what the president wanted. They agreed and let the president take over the ability to wage war. Part of the article explains how George W. Bush has used the 9/11 attacks to shift and mold his foreign policy in countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Regarding the War in Afghanistan, I can see how this would seem like the most appropriate response to a devastating attack such as that on September 11th. However, after 12 years of war, our target was still alive and simply moved to Pakistan. During his first term as President, Obama ordered Operation Neptune Spear, in which a team of Navy SEALs found and killed Osama bin Laden. Compared to the War in Afghanistan, this was a much faster, better, and less painful (for pretty much everyone) method of bringing justice to the one responsible for the attacks on 9/11. This war was indirectly authorized by Congress when they passed the resolution: Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Terrorists, which is a very broad resolution basically stating that the President can use force against any country he deems threatening via terrorism. Between the 431 people in the House and the 100 in the Senate, only three people voted against this act. Three people voted against a resolution in which Congress literally gave up its special ability to declare war on a nation. I am also quite concerned (or rather, disgusted) about the hypocrisy of the US government and presidents in using Weapons of Mass Destruction as an excuse (lie) to start a war with Iraq. When there was no real evidence of WMDs, and the UN weapons inspectors had not finished their work in Iraq, how could Congress and the President justify starting a war? This is very hypocritical for two reasons. First, the US still has over 5,000 nuclear warheads. In 2007, the US actually built new nuclear warheads. Is it because the US is a superpower in the international community the reason why only they are allowed to protect themselves with these weapons of mass destruction, while as soon as another country might have them, we invade them in self-defense? Also, something that I find hard to believe is that the US actually authorized the sale of dual agent technology, including ingredients for chemical weapons (anthrax, bubonic plague, botulism, etc.) to Iraq! This happened in the 1980s and continued until 1992. Then the US condemned Iraq for using chemical weapons on their Kurdish population! Wow. Basically, I believe that we need to be more careful (and maybe less corrupt) in our dealings with foreign affairs. Perhaps if we never find evidence of WMDs, or formulate a better combat plan against specific terrorists, or vote down on a resolution granting the President unprecedented power given only to Congress, then we can avoid war in the future.