All The President's Wars: How Foreign Policy Became One Man's Prerogative

[Getinvolved2012]

RON PAUL SOON!!!!

[kolinmartz]

the 3 branc of the govrnment was suppose to be balance no singlr branch can be more powerful than the other. no single branch can go above another without another going above it if you look at it it's suppose to be a circle

[nelrish24]

If we go by that metric

[voltagedrop]

Hah! "Supreme Warlord of the Earth." 

[successfulbuild]

"The Constitution supposes what the History of all Governments demonstrates, that the Executive is the branch of power most interested in war and most prone to it. It has accordingly, with studied care, vested the question of war with the Legislature." --James Madison.

[successfulbuild]

"We have already given in example one effectual check to the dog of war by transferring the power of letting him loose from the Executive to the Legislative body, from those who are to spend (the Executive) to those who are to pay (the Legislature)." --Thomas Jefferson

[successfulbuild]

The Iraq War was not "following the constitution." It was military action that did not have a formal declaration of war. And the Bush administration used all kinds of lies and spinning to sell that war. From pictures showing fire-trucks that were claimed to be contamination trucks, to the cartoons Colin Powell presented to the UN, to the claims about Iraq trying to by Uranium from Africa, from the claim that their chemicals which had a shelf-life of only a few years were still dangerous.

[Trenaway]

@successfulbuild That is total BULLSHIT and you know it. Bush DID NOT lie. ALL COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD SAID THE SAME THING BUSH DID!!!! Clinton said it. Congress did approve ALL actions in Iraq making it a total legal and Constitutional event! You have no clue of what your talking about with chemicals. I was in the USAF and was trained on ALL chem warfare. They do not have a shelf life per say. They are always dangerous. Through your lies somewhere else libtard!!! Only libtards spout these lies!

[successfulbuild]

@Trenaway No country in the world said that Saddam and Al-Qaeda were connected. bin Laden considered Saddam a socialist and his enemy, and this was well known. In fact, Bush himself, according to Woodward's book, originally though the claim that Saddam had WMD was "weak" and "wouldn't convince the public," hence the need for the propaganda campaign. Sarin and tabun both were not dangerous and could not have been used against US. Bush also violated international law. You're a turd.

[Trenaway]

@successfulbuild NO WHERE IN THE CONSTITUTION STATES THAT WE HAVE TO FOLLOW INTERNATIONAL LAW. We are to follow the US Constitution. Oh and let me put that bullshit to rest too. The UN overwhelming approved the action in Iraq, making it legal in international law. Finally your a goddamn liar and so is Woodward's book. Quoting him, just proved that your a KKK card member, libtard. Get OUT OF MY COUNTRY YOU HATE SO MUCH!!!!

[successfulbuild]

In fact, the Bush administration had been told several times there was no link between Iraq and Al-Qaeda even before the war by his own CIA, and he was told by advisers left over from the Clinton administration that Iraq had nothing to do with 9-11. As for civil liberties, they were never under attack as much as they were under the Bush administration for the last 50 years.

[successfulbuild]

Barack Obama's intervention in Libya is also illegal. The President has no legal authority under the Constitution or the UN Charter to decide whether to attack another country. (Bush did not have approval from the Security Council.)

[33rdPatriot]

that the brainless will be exterminated can only be a good thing

[33rdPatriot]

not only that, but our farcical "war on terror" is 100% based on a 100% lie, a 100% self-inflicted attack -- clearly the emperor, and most of his idiots, has no brain

[bluezoso]

Just amazing ReasonTV. Thank you.

[cfountain72]

Gene Healy rocks. His book on the imperial presidency is definitely worth a look.

Some folks may try to overcomplicate this 'odyssey' in Libya, but quite simply, even if it were in line with the WPR, it is unconstitutional. The president needed to get permission from Congress before taking the (metaphorical) keys and driving the military all the way to Libya. If they are unable/unwilling to give him permission when he wants it, that is his problem, not theirs.

Peace be with you.

[Wormtail81]

Who did the ballin' music?

[Wormtail81]

Short-term, immediate that we chose and created, Mr. Senator.

[furyofbongos]

The constitution is an immoral document because it authorizes the initiation of the use of force against citizens. /watch?v=ngpsJKQR_ZE

[swinescales]

Anyone who says Obama is waging wars unconstitutionally is either a racist or hates black people.

Oh, and phuck Bush too. Congressional approval is too easy to find these days. How bout they start an up or down war vote when they want to watch our brothers and sisters die in some rotten sand trap 10,000 miles away.

[HamsterFueledRocket]

And Ceaser crushes the republic again. Wasn't there a saying about learning form history or being doomed to repeat it, or something? Nah, probably doesn't matter.

[MooseOfReason]

Thank you for the balanced approach in this, with someone who has an expansive view of executive power. Even though I disagree with him, I'm glad he's in the video.

[BrotherWoody1]

Growing Executive Power has transformed itself from the Imperial Presidency to the Tyrannical Presidency. To help save our Republic and its Constitution, please consider Ron Paul in 2012 & engage yourself in local politics.

[Trenaway]

@BrotherWoody1 I will NEVER consider Ron Paul. he has proven that when it is in his best interest, he will sale out. What we need is somebody on the outside, not a politician who will lie to you.

[cfountain72]

@Trenaway Huh? What specifically are you referring to? 

[Trenaway]

@cfountain72 Right now he is doing it by working with the democrats to legalize weed. There are other things in the bill, that are freedom destroyers. There always is when you have democrats involved.

[Trenaway]

For the first time, I am totally calling you out, REASON. Saying Bush ignored congress is a total lie. He went to congress for EVERYTHING he did and they approved all of it. So to say that is a lie. The patriot act was voted in by congress and approved. The war in both Iraq and Afghanistan were voted and approved by congress. All that Bush did was legal and Constitutionally! He got the approval, but on the other hand, Obama has totally violated both the Constitution and the war powers act!!!

[timmcbride00]

@Trenaway

I was thinking the same thing. For anyone who is curious, it happens at 8:10 or so

[LambdaKore]

@Trenaway It surprises me that ReasonTV would say something that is so untrue and so easily refuted. Bush walked through a gauntlet to cross every t and to dot every i. ReasonTV needs to have a serious talk with whoever wrote the commentary for this piece.

[Trenaway]

@LambdaKore Thank you! I mean every move he made was watched so carefully by the media, he had too. Now on the other hand, the media has went totally silent on Obama, allowing him to get away from everything. Obama has broken so many laws and violated the Constitution so many times, I have lost count on how many!!

[alistairproductions]

Who cares about the fucking constitution. That's no measure of right and wrong, how about the non-aggression principle

[TheLegalImmigrant05]

2:05 In response to the events of the 20th century? really? What about the executives' themselves getting the US into WWI and WWII?? So the US participation in the war prompted a more energetic and powerful Presidency (and the public swallowed it more easily under war conditions), and then we find out that the Presidents themselves set up our entrance into those wars... Hmmmm. How convenient.

[SirWinstoneChurchill]

@kristopheraugust

I don't really give a damn what a  Canadian Leftist thinks about American politics...

Shouldn't you be cleaning up your mess in Vancouver?

[SirWinstoneChurchill]

@kristopheraugust

soviet socialism = national socialism = fascism

A fascist is just a socialist in a hurry...

[SirWinstoneChurchill]

@kristopheraugust

A fascist is a socialist in a hurry...

national socialism, soviet socialism, fascism, they are all the same thing...

[suitandtieguy]

i love the music in this one, except at the very end.

[rockinandout]

Your voice pissed me off in literally the first 30 seconds I had to stop watching

[blogegog]

@rockinandout Agreed, thought it took me 58 seconds to reach the same conclusion. I must be 50% slower than you.

[rockinandout]

@blogegog Nah I think you're just 50% more tolerant

[strawberEfieldz4ever]

0 people are ....oh, never mind ;)

[threepercenter03]

A just war could easily be defined as the troops of a nation invade our sovereign soil and our soldiers fight them here, while the Navy fights their homeland to further weaken their will to fight us; Not this preemptive neo-con globalism under the guise of GWOT b.s.

[AngryHateMusic]

The royal prerogative exempts the king from taxation. Get it?

[Aeronomer]

Thank God for the Libertarian movement. I have gone from being a die-hard Republican to loathing Dems and Repubs by almost the same amount.

[SirWinstoneChurchill]

@Aeronomer

I am happier about Democrats losing elections than I am about Republicans winning them...

[Aeronomer]

@SirWinstoneChurchill That's exactly how I feel Sir. =-)

[DaddyRTO]

@Aeronomer ME TOO!!!

[tmac9938]

well-done reason. nice video piece.

[prussell66]

By definition, Fascism is the merging of State and Corporate interests. America is, without a doubt, a fascist state now and when the President can unilaterally wage war, imprison, torture and assassinate people, he is our de facto fuhrer. The country is lost.

[ghuegel]

@prussell66 Don't be so melodramatic. We can pull out of the spiral of executive power by simply hanging one or two or three of the last three presidents. Future presidents might get the message that treason is a serious crime.

[prussell66]

@ghuegel The President is just a paid shill. If you want real change in this world, drop a bomb on the next Bilderberg meeting.

[brettknoss]

@ghuegel that's drastic but impeachment should be seriously considered. Of course it would help if congress could at least pass a resolution against Libya.

[MaxStirner4Lyfe]

@ghuegel As if the gang would hang fellow members.

[cooljj82]

@ghuegel Thats the most melodramatic thing i've ever read, funny that you started the statement the way you did.

[SirWinstoneChurchill]

@prussell66

A fascist is a socialist in a hurry...

[prussell66]

@SirWinstoneChurchill LOL, followed by a long, depressive sigh since it's the truth...

[SirWinstoneChurchill]

@prussell66

You mean, followed by your gas bag bellowing again...

[LambdaKore]

@prussell66 I would add one thing to your definition of Fascism, and that would be an ardent sense of or even an exploitation of national identity. Germany, Italy, and Spain were all Fascist countries, but they were all very aware of themselves as separate entities, not as appendages of each other. America doesn't seem to know what the hell it is anymore -- our melting pot of national identity has become Merkel's failure of multiculturalism.

[furyofbongos]

@prussell66 - I would say the country was lost the day it was created. Check this out: /watch?v=ngpsJKQR_ZE

[Bookstop1337]

@prussell66

Actually, the definition of Fascism is not universally agreed upon- what is agreed upon though is that it involves the creation of a totalitarian single-party state.. so the United States -as much as you Americans whine and moan about it, is not a fascist state. In fact you live in a nation that grants you a life better than 95% of the rest of the world, enjoy more freedoms than any country in the world and have little else to complain about. Try living in China, Korea, Africa

[pyroman4477]

@Bookstop1337 I take it you have never looked at the rankings of freest nations in the world. I suppose the best list to use would be the Wikipedia one, since it simply compiles the four major ones. US citizens do not enjoy more freedoms than any country in the world. Every day, more freedoms are being stripped away as well, which is why some of these charts show the US dropping.

[Bookstop1337]

@pyroman4477

If we go by that metric, or even separate articles on Wikipedia let's list what we find. Constitutionally protected rights: Constitutional right to freedom of religion, right to sexual orientation, right to bear arms, freedom of speech, freedom of press etc. The worldaudit (dot) org presstable gives the US a score of 16 based on its freedoms, compared to the UK's 19 and Canada's 17. The lower score is good btw. I'm a Canadian- you don't know how good you guys have it.. really.

[pyroman4477]

@Bookstop1337 Unfortunately the Constitution doesn't seem to mean much these days. Politicians routinely use the Necessary and Proper clause, the Commerce clause, and the General Welfare clause, to do pretty much anything they want to do. I've spent considerable time in Canada, I think I know what you are referring to. Government regulation on Internet has caused bandwidth caps there. Here is the thing, people in the US want us to be more like the rest of the world. Our freedoms are disappearing

[Bookstop1337]

@pyroman4477

I sympathize with you.. maybe run for congress?

[pyroman4477]

@Bookstop1337 I've thought about it. Sadly you need to be rich to make a successful run in my district, which seems to be the case for most districts these days.

[AdamaGeist]

Wow. That's... very loud background music.

[TheStrazy]

@AdamaGeist watch /watch?v=4IijTBRkDtc

[zalida100]

@TheStrazy haha - ya crazy bastard. Pretty funny.