Presidential Power in National Security: A Guide to the President-Elect

Abstract

Over the last half century, presidents have read their national security powers in sweeping terms, doing great damage to themselves, their parties, the nation, and regions around the world. The effective use of military force and foreign policy initiatives requires the building of consensus, public understanding, and acting within the law. Too often, presidents have claimed the unilateral power to commit the nation to war by making uninformed references to the commander in chief clause. They have also asserted “preeminence” in the making and conduct of foreign policy. Heavy political and constitutional costs flowed from miscalculations by Harry S. Truman in Korea, Lyndon B. Johnson in Southeast Asia, and George W. Bush in Iraq. Over the last seven years, the reputation of the United States has lost credit around the world because of indefinite detention without trial, torture memos, Abu Ghraib, Guantánamo, the claim of “law-free zones,” extraordinary rendition, and other U.S. policies and practices.