Many of these actions have been justified, albeit questionably, under the 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) directed against the instigators of the 9/11 attacks. As part of this, he has authorized the killing of Americans without judicial review. From the start of his Presidency, Obama greatly increased the number and geographic scope of drone strikes aimed at suspected Islamic militants. More recently, in the face of brutality by a ragtag band of criminals grandly proclaiming themselves the Islamic State, the President authorized airstrikes in Iraq and Syria without Congressional approval. Exceeding the terms of a UN Security Council resolution, they left an anarchical state that has destabilized neighbors and become a hotbed of regional terrorism. and European allies engaged in militarized regime change in Libya without Congressional authorization. Thousands of American soldiers, military trainers, and private contractors remain in both countries. has in many ways remained on a war footing. Although he repudiated torture and formally ended the Iraq and Afghanistan debacles (the latter after a years-long troop surge), the U.S. With a strong mandate from the American people in 2008, a Democratic Congress, and supportive Western allies, a major shift in policy appeared in the offing.īut Obama dashed most of those hopes, continuing or deepening Bush administration policies. As the candidate of “change you can believe in” and as a relative newcomer to Washington, Obama appeared to offer the best hope for those who believed that, since 9/11, the country has fought too many wars at too high a cost in lives, rights, and money.
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He vowed to halt torture, to close Guantanamo, and to avoid wars of choice. As Senator and candidate, Obama promised or suggested that he would end the national security excesses of the Bush administration. Of all the constituencies disappointed by President Barack Obama, few are more disenchanted than civil libertarians. View NATIONAL SECURITY AND DOUBLE GOVERNMENT. Review of NATIONAL SECURITY AND DOUBLE GOVERNMENT, by Michael J. Shadow Government and the Eclipse of Democracy