A01=Gerald Astor
Afghanistan War
American military history
Author_Gerald Astor
Bay of Pigs
Category=JW
Category=NHK
Cuban Missile Crisis
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eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
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Gerald Astor
Harry S. Truman
Iraq War
Korean War
presidential history
Presidents at War
Presidents at War: From Truman to Bush
Richard Nixon
The Gathering of Military Powers To Our Commanders in Chief
US Executive Government
US Presidents
Vietnam War
Product details
- ISBN 9780471696551
- Dimensions: 162 x 240mm
- Publication Date: 14 Sep 2006
- Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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The Korean War, the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, Cambodia, Lebanon, El Salvador, Grenada, Iran-Contra, Nicaragua, Panama, the Gulf War, Somalia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, IraqWhat do these events and scores of others have in common? Each of these wars, incursions, invasions, and covert actions was undertaken by the United States without the benefit of a declaration of war. Where congressional sanction was sought, it usually took the form of a resolution, frequently issued after the fact.Presidents at War is the first book to examine all of America's post-World War II military actions through the lens of the president's authority as commander in chief. Author Gerald Astor analyzes the various presidents' rationales for undeclared warfare, from Truman's citing of an international agreement (the United Nations) to Eisenhower's domino theory, to Kennedy's defense of the Monroe Doctrine, to bald assertions of authority by a commander in chief because of fears of communist expansion, threats to oil in the Middle East, humanitarian concerns in the Balkans, or provocations by terrorists. Each commander in chief served as a precedent for those who followed. Astor contends this cumulative process was accelerated by the September 11, 2001, attacks that led to the war on terrorism, the invasion of Iraq to oust the cruel regime of Saddam Hussein for his alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction, and the potential trampling of civil liberties in the United States.Has the president become free to take military action on the slightest whim? Is it now true that, as Richard Nixon said, ""If the president does it, then it is not illegal""? Is the Constitution obsolete? And does Congress have the tools with which to curb this seemingly unbridled power? Read Presidents at War and find out.
A former magazine writer and editor, GERALD ASTOR has published twenty-four books, twelve on World War II, including The Jungle War: Mavericks, Marauders, and Madmen in the China-Burma-India Theater of World War II, also available from Wiley. He lives in Scarsdale, New York.
