SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES.I feel he has to play the card game with what he has been dealt. He may have helped shuffle back 3 days after the event, but talk of non-authorization leaving him out on his lonesome without a formal declaration flys in the face of what he was authorized by Congress to do, and to do in preety broad terms.(a) IN GENERAL- That the President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons.
(b) War Powers Resolution Requirements-
(1) SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORIZATION- Consistent with section 8(a)(1) of the War Powers Resolution, the Congress declares that this section is intended to constitute specific statutory authorization within the meaning of section 5(b) of the War Powers Resolution.
(2) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER REQUIREMENTS- Nothing in this resolution supercedes any requirement of the War Powers Resolution.
This is terrible. If GW thinks someone is a terrorist, that person may be treated as a terrorist -- no due process to determine that the person is actually a terrorist. This troubles me a lot less in GW's hands than in some of the other possibilities I can think of for Presidents in the future, but he is only going to "know" what he is told by people whose agendas we don't fully know.
Way too much power in the hands of one fallible man.
BTW, I hope you saw #59 above by Iwo Jima. . . . . the best post on the thread, IMO.