War Powers, War Lies

The War Powers, War Lies series explores the way our nation’s wars get decided, waged, and sold. Unlike the other materials here, I am listing these in the order they were published, because they can and should be read in continuity, as well as in the context of their times, from 2005 to 2007. They include:

  • The Framers meant Congress to say when we went to war.  Original Intent (Part 1) (February 4, 2005).
  • When Presidents define what war is, they cut Congress out of its say about when war starts.  Imperfect War (Part 2) (February 25, 2005).
  • How LBJ used lies to escalate Vietnam.  Tonkin Spook (Part 3) (March 25, 2005).
  • How we set ourselves up for Presidents to lie to us about the wars they start.  Willingly Deceived (Part 4) (April 29, 2005).
  • The failure of the War Powers Resolution to curb Presidential overreaching of war powers.  Outgunned (Part 5) (June 3, 2005).
  • It’s easy for Presidents to get around Congress and everyone else when they hide behind covert special forces and subcontract out our wars to murderous proxies.  War Off the Books (Part 6) (July 8, 2005).
  • How the Bush Administration justified ignoring the Geneva Conventions in handling Muslim captives.  Captive Taxonomy (Part 7) (August 5, 2005).
  • The tortured thinking behind torture.  Playbook (Part 8 ) (August 26, 2005).
  • How getting away from U.S. shores means getting away with much more.  Away Games (Part 9) (October 28, 2005).
  • The perversions of due process in the Guantanamo tribunals.  Kangaroo (Part 10) (November 18, 2005).
  • Whatever really moved the Bush team to invade Iraq, they never shared it with us.  Why We Fought (Part 11) (January 27, 2006).
  • The Global War on Terror wasn’t a war, and wasn’t about terror.  Not GWOT (Part 12) (February 24, 2006).
  • Despite the Bush Administration’s attacks on the Constitution and American traditions in its name, there was no war.  The War That Wasn’t (Part 13) (March 31, 2006).
  • How Bush created the Super Bowl of terrorism in Iraq.  Super Bowl (Part 14) (May 26, 2006).
  • Saddam Hussein pretended to have weapons of mass destruction, and we pretended to believe him.  Weapons of Mutual Deception (Part 15) (June 30, 2006).
  • How John Adams and Abraham Lincoln tried to make the suppression of political dissent part of their war powers.  Speechcrimes and Groupcrimes (Part 16) (August 25, 2006).
  • The shameful way Woodrow Wilson tried to criminalize dissent, and the roots of Supreme Court resistance in Justice Holmes’ evolving viewpoint.   Wilson’s Gag (Part 17) (September 29, 2006).
  • The dilemma created by the Communist Party of the USA, the Witch Hunts and the developing resistance of the Supreme Court.  Proxies (Part 18) (October 27, 2006).
  • The end of the Witch Hunts, and the legitimization of wartime dissent.  Are You Now, Or Have You Ever Been? (Part 19) (January 26, 2007).
  • The real war of the Bush Administration: on the public’s right to know.  Mine to Know (Part 20) (February 23, 2007).
  • However helpful the Press may be after the fact, it is almost always insufficient to offset Presidential usurpation and deceit while it occurs.   Day Late, Dollar Short (Part 21) (April 2, 2007).
  • The power of total, obliterative war, highlighting Hamburg and Hiroshima.  Not One Stone (Part 22) (May 29, 2007).
  • The total overthrow of the Constitution implicit in the Balance of Terror.  MADness (Part 23) (June 25, 2007).
  • If the Button were pushed, the President could become the nation.  Metastasis (Part 24) (July 30, 2007)
  • Only a President who is both honest and determined to curb his or her own power can live within the Constitutionally-intended checks and balances when it comes to matters of war.  Neither Congress, the Press, nor we ourselves can save us.  Mission Accomplished (Conclusion) (August 27, 2007).
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