3 ms·

You have faithfully channeled John Yoo, articulating the case for U.S. military action directed solely by the president, wherever and whenever he perceives a th

You have faithfully channeled John Yoo, articulating the case for U.S. military action directed solely by the president, wherever and whenever he perceives a threat to Americans or American interests. It's bizarre to me that the failures of the Bush administration seem to have done little to damp the enthusiasm for this kind of thinking. You'll note, for example, the growing calls from various government officials to add drug cartels to the official list of terrorist organizations. Presumably to justify increased militarization of the War on Drugs. I actually like John Yoo. I disagree with him, but I find no fault with those who don't. But I think it would be intellectually honest for you to admit that you've aligned yourself with a very contentious neo-conservative strain of political philosophy. To be clear, I don't pretend to have any good answers here. I think I agree with you about trials in absentia. I don't agree that handing all the keys to whomever occupies the oval office is the best solution.

tptacek 13y ago
He's not channeling John Yoo. The President is acting under the express authorization of Congress, which authorization could be withdrawn, and with it the President's ability to drone strike people simply because they are on hostile soil working with al Qaeda. John Yoo's view of the authority of the "unitary executive" is far more expansive. Of course, what you're actually doing here is invoking a bugbear (John Yoo is also notorious for conjuring quasi-legal justifications for abhorrent interrogation policies, including torture) to avoid engaging with what 'rayiner is actually saying.
- nate_meurer 13y ago
  Well Jeez, I really wasn't trying to invoke a bugbear. I'm reaching for a label. Yoo just happens to be the most prominent articulator (in my mind) of the ideas you guys are promoting. Do you disagree with that characterization? I didn't hear you protest the neo-conservative label, which I personally find much more pejorative. As I say in my comment above, it seems that our fundamental disagreement is that I perceive a dangerous concentration of power in the executive, and you don't. If that's the case then we're likely at an impasse.
rayiner 13y ago
> I actually like John Yoo. I disagree with him, but I find no fault with those who don't. But I think it would be intellectually honest for you to admit that you've aligned yourself with a very contentious neo-conservative strain of political philosophy. You're mixing up two related but distinct issues. Neo-conservatives believe that the authority to engage the military abroad is primarily invested in the President, and he can act to a great degree without interference from Congress. That is a controversial viewpoint. What is much less controversial is that, whatever the division of power may be between the President and Congress when it comes to exercising the sovereign powers of the United States abroad, there is no seat at that table for the judiciary. The idea that the courts are fundamentally domestic institutions, and may not infringe on the exercise of military power abroad except in the narrowest of cases is very broadly embraced.

tptacek 13y ago

He's not channeling John Yoo. The President is acting under the express authorization of Congress, which authorization could be withdrawn, and with it the President's ability to drone strike people simply because they are on hostile soil working with al Qaeda. John Yoo's view of the authority of the "unitary executive" is far more expansive. Of course, what you're actually doing here is invoking a bugbear (John Yoo is also notorious for conjuring quasi-legal justifications for abhorrent interrogation policies, including torture) to avoid engaging with what 'rayiner is actually saying.

nate_meurer 13y ago
Well Jeez, I really wasn't trying to invoke a bugbear. I'm reaching for a label. Yoo just happens to be the most prominent articulator (in my mind) of the ideas you guys are promoting. Do you disagree with that characterization? I didn't hear you protest the neo-conservative label, which I personally find much more pejorative. As I say in my comment above, it seems that our fundamental disagreement is that I perceive a dangerous concentration of power in the executive, and you don't. If that's the case then we're likely at an impasse.

rayiner 13y ago

> I actually like John Yoo. I disagree with him, but I find no fault with those who don't. But I think it would be intellectually honest for you to admit that you've aligned yourself with a very contentious neo-conservative strain of political philosophy. You're mixing up two related but distinct issues. Neo-conservatives believe that the authority to engage the military abroad is primarily invested in the President, and he can act to a great degree without interference from Congress. That is a controversial viewpoint. What is much less controversial is that, whatever the division of power may be between the President and Congress when it comes to exercising the sovereign powers of the United States abroad, there is no seat at that table for the judiciary. The idea that the courts are fundamentally domestic institutions, and may not infringe on the exercise of military power abroad except in the narrowest of cases is very broadly embraced.