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Raining on the Victory Parade

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WOULD SOMEONE MIND telling me whether the war in Afghanistan is over or not? U.S. government officials seem to be proclaiming victory. But if the war has been won, then why is the U.S. government continuing to bomb Afghanistan, conduct that everyone agrees continues to kill innocent civilians, albeit as unfortunate “collateral damage”? If the replacement of the murderous and abusive Taliban regime with the murderous and rapist Northern Alliance regime was the goal (Internet search terms: “Northern Alliance and rape”), then doesn’t that mean that the war is over? And now that the U.S. government’s partner, the Northern Alliance, is in power, doesn’t that mean that the Northern Alliance has the duty to handle ordinary police functions, including the bringing of suspected domestic terrorists to justice? In fact, I’m not even clear on what exactly the role of the U.S. military is in Afghanistan, given that its partner, the Northern Alliance, is now in charge. Is the U.S. military now the de facto ...

Freedom and Security in America and around the World

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THE SHOCKING AND tragic events of September 11, 2001, have affected not only the United States but the rest of the world as well. This impact, however, is not limited to an increased awareness of the dangers from networks of international terrorists. Nor is it limited to a heightened awareness of the global reach of the U.S. government and its technological capabilities in response to this terrorist attack. It has also made many people once more think about the relationship and connection between freedom and security. People expect their government, at the very least, to protect them from violent attacks against their person and their property. In 1830, the English free-market economist William Huskisson observed, “Security of persons and to property is the ultimate object and end of the institution of government.” This, he said, “is ...

Declare War before Waging War, Part 2

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Part 1 | Part 2 Naturally, presidents and their aides have been creative in coming up with reasons to short-circuit the Constitution’s clear requirement. Those who thus torture the Constitution include many conservatives who normally proclaim the importance of “original intent. ” Except when they want to empower politicians to do what they want. One favorite claim is that the president has some unspecified, ill-defined “foreign-affairs power ” that reduces the explicit war-powers clause to a nullity. That might be a good argument if the Constitution didn’t speak to the issue, but the Founders explicitly circumscribed the president’s foreign-policy authority by vesting countervailing power in Congress. Legislators are to declare war; they also raise the military, organize the militia, and implement the rules of war (such as authorizing letters of marque and reprisal and defining and punishing piracy). Congress is also to regulate foreign commerce, while the Senate must consent to ...