Free Essay

Bush

In:

Submitted By Hend3901
Words 2782
Pages 12
Zeba Hasan
March 12, 2013
WRD 104
Professor Staley
Suspected Terrorists Post 9/11: Constitution Abandoned The Founding Fathers of the United States created a basic set of laws that all people and officials abide by. Every individual has the right to a fair and speedy trial and the accessibility to a lawyer according to the Sixth Constitutional Amendment. The Eighth Constitutional Amendment bans cruel and unusual punishment while the Fourth Amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. The words ‘people’ and ‘individual’ occur frequently in the Constitution and do not specify a certain group of people or whether a person must be a United States citizen for these amendments to take effect. Michael E. Cannon, member of the military service for over twenty-two years, noted that these amendments are not followed through when it comes to investigations outside of the United States, notoriously in the Middle East where countless infamous prisons torture prisoners daily, such as Abu Ghraib (Cannon). Many arguments are made as to whether torture should or should not be used during investigations. Torture, in some circumstances, has been shown to aid investigations or in some way break the prisoner. Americans feel secure knowing that they are controlling people from the same nationality or religion as those who hurt the nation tremendously a few years ago. Although the safety of United States’ citizens is a vital necessity and a right when living in the nation, it should not take precedent over the torture-free lives of others. Torturing began to surface in investigations after the events of September 11, 2001 when terrorists crashed planes into the Twin Towers. Since the tragic day, torture techniques surfaced in order to link people to terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda. “By a wide margin, 40%-58% of Americans say that torture should never be used, no matter the circumstances”, reported by Glenn Greenwald, American political journalist (Greenwald). By a wide majority, Americans come to the consensus that torture should not be used against terrorists. Opinions on whether or not torture should be used vary along the entire spectrum. While a group of Americans may be set against torture for moral reasons, others feel that torture has a valid safety purpose in American prisons. There is no doubt that torture during investigations is immoral, but what arguers to my statement may propose is that immortality should not play precedent to the safety of American lives. “Most civilized people would say they oppose…but what happens when there is a so-called “ticking time bomb”…a suspect is thought to have time-sensitive information”, retold by Clinton Zandt, a former Supervisory Special Agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Zandt). The “ticking time bomb” situation, a figurative statement for a prisoner possessing vital information that may protect millions of American lives, is one of the main concerns for those Americans pro-torture.
This is most certainly a valid point. What if one of these prisoners has top-secret information about a future attack that could harm thousands of Americans? What if an attack is going to occur and one of these inmates is concealing the information? What if….what if? Can we live in a world of What if’s ? Are we honestly considering torturing the entire population of suspected terrorist inmates for a fear luring amongst society? The mere reason behind torturing these prisoners lies behind an uncertain fear of future harm. A nation known as the “superpower” of the world should have interrogation procedures a little more organized than this, should they not? We are simply moving back to the time of the Red Scare, a time when communism was viewed as a great threat to American society, leading to uncanny tortures and trials for persons in the United States. Torturing these “suspected terrorists” may also be a way to, in a way, take revenge from the people who tortured our land. Although others may disagree, I can see that revenge is most certainly a reason as to why so many Americans are not opposing the torture occurring; but, if we torture these prisoners, what makes our nation different? Are we not just another merciless nation? Let’s look at this in another way. By torturing these suspected terrorists, we are promoting even more hate for our nation by terrorist groups throughout the world. I am most certain that that will be of no aid to the safety of our nation. The legal aspects also need to be taken into consideration when discussing torture used against prisoners. The United States Constitution specifically states the rights of “people”, itself. It is not specified whether these “people” need to be United States citizens or not, therefore the Constitutional amendments should be extended towards everyone, as agreed upon by popular political radio host and American free market Libertarian writer Harry Browne (Browne). Does everyone not deserve the right to live a life of freedom? What would our lives be if we were not granted the right to speak up when we felt the government was making a mistake? Would gay marriage even be considered if it had not been the right for freedom? Would pro-life supporters even be given the opportunity to speak up if it had not been our “guaranteed right of freedom”? We all know the answer to those questions, and it is a simple no. Should we deny these very rights we live our lives by and preach to classroom students to others in need of freedom? I see that as morally incorrect. In our Constitution, every person has protection against unreasonable searches and seizures (Amendment 4); each individual is given the right to a speedy trial headed by an impartial jury (Amendment 6) and protected against cruel, unusual punishment (Amendment 8). Reported by Pulitzer Prize winning American journalist, Eric Schmitt, “Elisa Massimino…administration had interpreted an international treaty banning torture to mean that a prohibition against cruel and inhumane treatment did not apply to C.I.A. actions overseas” (Schmitt). Now, my question becomes, why should the international treaty not be acknowledged overseas? What right does the nation have to simply state, “We are not going to be abiding by this so-called international treaty with our prisons outside of the country”? Granted, others may not view this the way I am, but what this merely reminds me of is an elementary school bully who believes he is better than the rest making an unreasonable excuse to continue doing what he desires by stating, “I’m bigger, better, and more powerful than the rest of you, so I’ll do what I want, when I want to”. Is the United States not acting as this big school bully by making its’ own rules while forcing other nations to abide by the original terms nonetheless?
The amendments glorifying our nation are nullified when it comes to the investigations conducted by U.S. military overseas, which is illegal in all regards. The infamous court trial, Hamdi v. Rumsfeld (316 F.3d 450 (4th Cir. 2003)), acts as a clear indication of the bias that occurs in enforcing the sixth constitutional amendment. Hamdi, a citizen of the United States, was taken into custody for being near premises of an “enemy combatant” in Afghanistan. Eric M. Freedman, the Maurice A. Deane Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law at Hofstra Law School, states, “Not being given a fair trial, Hamdi petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus, a process by which prisoners appeal to the federal court to have a decision overturned, in order to receive a case hearing” (Freedman). Although the Constitution clearly states that every person should be granted a fair, speedy trial, Hamdi’s request was not granted by the courts. A prioritized constitutional right denied to a United States citizen acts as a substantial act as indirect torture in case law. What reason does the United States government have in this court case? We were all told that the Constitution protects all citizens’ of their rights. This very Constitution, however, failed to protect Hamdi, a citizen of the United States, because people felt that providing him with a trial would allow him to roam freely. If Hamdi truly was a terrorist, would there not be a way to prove this in a court of law, forcing him to be put behind bars? Obviously, this was not given a second thought to, because unfortunately for Hamdi, he was not granted a right that all citizens of this free nation are supposedly granted, a right to free trial. This case acts as a strong precedent for similar suspected terrorist cases and images the significance constitutional rights play in regards to terrorism. Because of this case being a precedent for future similar court cases, “terrorists” are bound to be given the same consequences as Hamdi, giving them no hope for a fair trial or a bright life ahead. As reported by Vincent Lacopino, M.D., Ph. D. Director of Research for Physicians for Human Rights, not only is torture illegal in the United States, but it is also prohibited throughout the world. “Torture is unequivocally prohibited in international law” (Lacopino). International law, established during the aftermath of Nazi crimes in concentration camps, prohibits the use of torture against prisoners. Under United Nations law, torture in any regards in any circumstance is prohibited, and vast actions should be taken to protect prisoners from torture. The Bush administration, however, assured Americans that whatever actions were occurring Middle Eastern prisons was legal and should be continued (“New York Times”). In this sense, President Bush agreed with the torture of prisoners and felt that torture was crucial for the safety of the country, making it somewhat legal for military troops to conduct torture acts. Scott Wheeler, executive director of the National Republican Trust PAC, international investigative journalist, and veteran of the U.S. Army infantry, reported his experiences with prisoner investigation. Both Wheeler and the Bush administration seemed to come to the consensus, however, that there are no humane methods of interrogation (Wheeler). The better question may be to ask, what other methods have been attempted to interrogate these prisoners? Knowing other methods that have been used to combat terrorism in prisons would certainly aid in brainstorming other interrogation procedures rather than promoting torture. Through what has been reported and leaked out to the public, it does not seem as if the Bush administration spent a great deal of time attempting to brainstorm a more effective method of gathering intelligence, rather, it seems that torture was considered to be the only way out. Torture should have been the last option, if at all even a possibility. It merely promotes exponential hate for this great nation we live in by people worldwide and is the least effective in terms of gathering true vital information needed for the nation’s security. The effectiveness of manipulating torture during investigations is debatable to a great extent. Karen Greenberg, Director of the Center on National Security at Fordham University’s School of Law states, “People possess dissuading opinions whether torture is actually beneficial in regards to obtaining new information on terrorist groups” (Greenberg). ABC News Reporters, Brian Ross and Richard Esposito, reported the news story of Al-Libbi, an alleged senior member of the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization. "It was later established that al Libbi had no knowledge of such training or weapons and fabricated the statements because he was terrified of further harsh treatment…they get so desperate that they begin telling you what they think you want to hear” (Ross, and Esposito). This highlights a downside to torture, showing that the harsh nature of interrogators force prisoners to concoct a story that will prevent any more torture. “People who are violent should be separated from the community, for the sake of the nonviolent”, says American lawyer and Georgetown University law professor, Paul Butler (Butler 201). Many “terrorist” detainees, however, show no signs of violence in the community; rather, arrests are merely made in fear for the rest of society. The Constitutional Amendments have always been considered superior over any other body or law created by government; they play a basis for all laws and decisions created from court cases. In the issue of torture of prisoners during investigations oversees, however, the Constitution lacks power. The laws enforced by President Bush seem to have played a much more powerful role than the document which created our country. The Patriot Act passed in 2001 following the attacks on September 11 substantially altered the laws governing privacy and citizens. This set of laws passed by President Bush expanded government access to information considered off-limits provided a special circumstance does not exist. With the passing of the Patriot Act, phone records, internet usage records, e-mails, along with numerous other personal records are openly available for government access to use against suspected terrorists. Think about it. Your text messages are no longer private; the emails sent out for private purposes are not only being read by the intended person, but government services, as well. Phone calls can easily be tapped into, and an entire sense of privacy is stripped from every one of us, not just media celebrity targets. What happened to our 4th amendment right protecting us against unreasonable searches and seizures? Well, I guess it no longer pertains to society today, because, guess what? The safety of our nation depends upon Big Brother watching over our every move. Torture has aided interrogations to some extent and has been responsible for crucial information being obtained. The issue remains, however, whether it is humane or beneficial to make use of torture against prisoners that may not even have a link to terrorists.

(Spagnolia)

(Spagnolia)

Is torture truly a necessity for interrogation purposes? Over the board people agree that making use of torture is immoral, however, the blatant excuse that is continuously surfaced time after time is whether the safety of American lives is worth the torture of foreigners. Unfortunately, this very act of our nation is being acted upon by nations worldwide who have come to despise the United States. It has been seen constantly by nations in the Middle East where American ambassadors were tortured and killed. Yes, this is a terrible way to end a life; but can we blame them? Are we not allowing the same to occur with foreigners in our land? Are we not just promoting the same hate techniques being used in nations we consider evil? Look at this from a broad perspective and take into account the pros and cons of torturing these “terrorists”. Hate is erupting throughout the globe against the United States. And why, you may ask? The irony our nation is based upon acts as a solid reason. We preach freedom and individual rights, yet we do not grant them. Our Constitution provides for these undeniable rights to all citizens, yet a citizen of this very nation was denied the right to a speedy trial. Torturing these prisoners needs to have an end; in the end, putting an end to this very act will promote the safety of our own nation against the growing hate of nations worldwide.

Works Cited

Bright, Stephen. "The Accused Get What the System Doesn't Pay For." 3. Print.
Browne, Harry. "Should the U.S. Military Be Allowed to Use Torture?." HarryBrowne. N.p., 11 Jan 2005. Web. 28 Feb 2013.
Butler, Paul. "Racially Based Jury Nullification." Black Power in the Criminal Justice System. 201. Print.
Cannon, Michael. Abu Ghraib. Xulon Press, 2005. Print.
Freedman, Eric. Habeas Corpus: Rethinking the Great Writ of Liberty. New York University Press, 2003. Print.
Greenberg, Karen. The Torture Debate in America. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Print.
Greenwald, Glenn. "New Poll On Torture and Investigations Negates Beltway Conventional Wisdom." Salon. Salon, 22 Jan 2009. 28 Feb 2013.
"Hamdi v. Rumsfeld." 316 F.3d 450 (4th Cir. 2003) U.S. 2003. Print.
"Legalizing Torture." New York Times (2004): Web. 28 Feb 2013.
Ross, Brian, and Richard Esposito. "CIA's Harsh Interrogation Techniques Described." ABC News. ABC, 18 Nov 2005. Web. 28 Feb 2013.
Schmitt, Eric. "White House Insists That CIA Should Be Allowed To Continue Torture Of Detainees."Information Clearing House. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb 2013.
Spagnoli, Filip. Terrorism and Human Rights (6): The War on Terror. 2008. WordPressWeb. 4 Mar 2013.
Vincent Lacopino. "Should the United States Torture Terrorist Suspects to Gather Information?." CQPress. CQPress, n.d. Web. 28 Feb 2013.
Wheeler, Sc. ""Torture" Methods the CIA Should Have Used." Townhall. TownHall, n.d. Web. 28 Feb 2013.
Zandt, Clinton. "Should the United States Torture Terrorist Suspects to Gather Information?." CQPress. CQPress, n.d. Web. 28 Feb 2013.

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Bush

...FAMILY OF SECRETS The Bush Dynasty, America’s Invisible Government, and the Hidden History of the Last Fifty Years RUSS BAKER Contents Foreword by James Moore 1. How Did Bush Happen? 2. Poppy’s Secret 3. Viva Zapata 4. Where Was Poppy? 5. Oswald’s Friend 6. The Hit 7. After Camelot 8. Wings for W. 9. The Nixonian Bushes 10. Downing Nixon, Part I: The Setup 11. Downing Nixon, Part II: The Execution 12. In from the Cold 13. Poppy’s Proxy and the Saudis 14. Poppy’s Web 15. The Handoff 16. The Quacking Duck 17. Playing Hardball 18. Meet the Help 19. The Conversion 20. The Skeleton in W.’s Closet 21. Shock and . . . Oil? 22. Deflection for Reelection 23. Domestic Disturbance 24. Conclusion Afterword Author’s Note Acknowledgments Notes Foreword When a governor or any state official seeks elective national office, his (or her) reputation and what the country knows about the candidate’s background is initially determined by the work of local and regional media. Generally, those journalists do a competent job of reporting on the prospect’s record. In the case of Governor George W. Bush, Texas reporters had written numerous stories about his failed businesses in the oil patch, the dubious land grab and questionable funding behind a new stadium for Bush’s baseball team, the Texas Rangers, and his various political contradictions and hypocrisies while serving in Austin. I was one of those Texas journalists. I spent about a decade...

Words: 249168 - Pages: 997

Free Essay

Alaskan Bush Pilot

...with Textron to chase my dream of finishing college and becoming a pilot. I have realized that chasing my dream instead of chasing the all mighty dollar will be more fulfilling in the long run. I honestly do not have a specialized area I would like to go into as a pilot. With all the options available, I can’t choose just one at this time. I want to do them all. I can say I do not want to be a UAS Operator. I know that Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s) are the future of aviation but sitting in a box in the back of a truck is not a pilot. I know it is no easy task, but one of my goals is to someday be an Alaskan Bush Pilot. I would love to fly through the mountains and beautiful landscape of Alaska. I have met several interesting pilots in my lifetime and all of them seem to have amazing stories from when they were flying in Alaska. Becoming an Alaskan Bush Pilot will be no easy task. Most jobs require two to three times the experience as pilot jobs in the continental 48 states. In Alaska 1,000 to 1,500 hours are the typical minimum for a new hire. Most companies require some form of minimum “Alaska Time” or equivalent such as Mountain Time or experience in the Pacific Northwest. Tail wheel and float experience are also a large plus in Alaska which is very hard to get....

Words: 457 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Bush

...Barbrtitta Higginbotham Strayer University President Bush SOC205 April 29, 2012 President Bush President George W. Bush from the time he took office on January 20, 2001, through October 31, 2008. Basic descriptive statistics regarding these appointments are also provided. As of October 31, 2008, President Bush had made 171 recess appointments. President William J. Clinton, in comparison, made a total of 139 recess appointments during the course of his presidency. Of President Bush’s 171 recess appointments, 99 were to full-time positions, and the remaining 72 were to part-time positions. Thirty were made during recesses between Congresses or between sessions of Congress (intersession recess appointments). The remaining 141 were made during recesses within sessions of Congress (intersession recess appointments). The duration of the 24 recesses during which President Bush made recess appointments ranged from 10 to 47 days. The average (mean) duration of these recesses was 25 days, and the median duration was 26 days. In 165 of the 171 cases in which President Bush made a recess appointment, the individual was also nominated, by October 31, 2008, to the position to which he or she had been appointed. In 162 of these 165 cases, the individuals being appointed had previously been nominated to the position. In the three remaining cases, the individuals were first nominated to the position after the recess appointment. Of the 165 cases in which the...

Words: 317 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Bush

...George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 43rd President Of the United States of America from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000. The eldest son of Barbara and George H. W. Bush, he was born in New Haven, Connecticut. After graduating from Yale University in 1968 and Harvard Business School in 1975, Bush worked in oil businesses. He married Laura Welch in 1977 and ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives shortly thereafter. He ran for the Republican party. He made tax cuts which were named the bush tax cuts.Taxes were meant to be cut by $1.6 trillion this made him well liked throughout the county.He also formed the no child left behind act for the educational system. Many people were very skeptical about this at first believing that it would not work and after they saw the first few test results they were on board with the plan.President Bush supported adult stem cell research and umbilical cord blood stem cell research. However, Bush opposed any new embryonic stem cell research, and had limited the federal funding of existing research. Federal funding for embryonic stem cell research was first approved under President Clinton on January 19, 1999,but no money was to be spent until the guidelines were published. The guidelines were released under Clinton on August 23, 2000.They allowed use of unused frozen embryos. On August 9, 2001, before any funding was granted under these guidelines...

Words: 745 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Vannevar Bush

...Vannevar Bush (/væˈniːvɑr/ van-NEE-var; March 11, 1890 – June 28, 1974) was an American engineer, inventor and science administrator, who during World War II headed the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD), through which almost all wartime military R&D was carried out, including initiation and early administration of the Manhattan Project. He is also known in engineering for his work on analog computers, for founding Raytheon, and for the memex, a hypothetical adjustable microfilm viewer with a structure analogous to that of hypertext. In 1945, Bush published As We May Think in which he predicted that "wholly new forms of encyclopedias will appear, ready made with a mesh of associative trails running through them, ready to be dropped into the memex and there amplified".[1] The memex influenced generations of computer scientists, who drew inspiration from its vision of the future. For his master's thesis, Bush invented and patented a "profile tracer", a mapping device for assisting surveyors. It was the first of a string of inventions. He joined the Department of Electrical Engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1919, and founded the company now known as Raytheon in 1922. Starting in 1927, Bush constructed a differential analyzer, an analog computer with some digital components that could solve differential equations with as many as 18 independent variables. An offshoot of the work at MIT by Bush and others was the beginning of digital...

Words: 7234 - Pages: 29

Free Essay

Bushs Speaks

...world. The whole world’s population were shocked, and never before have people conjectured that the terrorists would attack the United States of America. Same evening, at the time president, George W. Bush held a speech, whose intention was to calm the U.S. population and to warn the terrorist and the rest of the world about an eventually war. Bush’s intentions with the speech is to calm the country, and be their president. Since Bush is the president, he already has a big ethos. However, he also points out in the speech, to underscores his ethos even more, that he has control over the situation, and that America does not need to be worry about theirs safety even though what just happened a few hours ago. He says:” Immediately following the first attack, I implemented our government's emergency response plans. Our military is powerful, and it is prepared.” He underscores that America is strong and powerful and that they are not afraid of the future because they can and will handle it. In addition, he also warns the terrorist about an eventually war with the same quote. The US is ready for war in any minutes, and they want to fight for peace and security and win the war against terrorism. The speech bears the mark of pathos in particular. In the first part of the speech, Bush keeps mention the victims and theirs family and friend. “The victims were in airplanes or in their offices -- secretaries, businessmen and women, military and federal workers. Moms and dads. Friends and...

Words: 874 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Bush Library

...Bush Library Today the George W. Bush Presidential Center has its dedication today and SMU welcomes all former and current presidents that are still alive. An entire long preparation has been done in the previous week to this huge event. Including road jobs, to painting buildings to gardening flowers to a stunning set up for this even to succeed. The George W. Bush Library is full of millions of pages of official records documenting the two-term administration of his presidential carrier, as well as donated historical materials that document Bush's 2000 presidential campaign and his personal papers as Governor of Texas. In addition to these textual records, the Bush Library has an extensive audiovisual collection that include photographs and videotapes, as well as an extensive artifact collection containing presidential and gubernatorial domestic and foreign gifts. In the day of the dedication ceremony speeches from His wife and all five presidents were given all of them giving former president George Bush a word of appreciation, congratulations, and support for what he did fro this nation. In my opinion and talking as an SMU current student I feel very proud to be part of this community and to have the opportunity to experience such a big event. There are only few presidential centers in the country and for My school SMU to be selected to be one of the universities to have one of this big buildings that are meant to dedicate and honor a formers president of this nation opens...

Words: 261 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Macroeconomics- Bush and Kerry

...Kwan Ho Derrick Lui Macro Economics Professor Chartier 10/25/2004 Bush and Kerry under the Four Economic Issues As the presidential election date is approaching, it is time for Americans to make the important decision on whether to vote for Senator Kerry or President Bush. This decision may very well depends on the individual as the elected candidate will cause a different impact for each American. This essay will examine the position and programs of each presidential candidate under the four main economic issues in the United States: healthcare, taxation, international trade and environment policy. The first economic issue is Healthcare. As we all know, healthcare cost in the United States is comparatively more expensive than other countries. This is also the reason why many workers in the United States require healthcare benefits. Cost in healthcare is simply too high for an average American to afford if anything happens to them and therefore, many people purchase health insurance. However, having health insurance does not solve the high cost in healthcare because premiums are expensive and not all could afford it. Senator Kerry plans to reduce the cost of health insurance, health care bills and medicine, as well as improving medical efficiency to cut administrative cost. He asserts to cut premium costs by reimbursing business for 75 percent of the cost of catastrophic care since a single catastrophic case can raise the price of health insurance dramatically...

Words: 1455 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

George Bush as President

...President George Walker Bush had a very interesting life before becoming the president of the United States of America. Bush was born in Grace-New Haven Community Hospital the summer of 1946. Growing up he had a passion for baseball and wanted to be a professional baseball player, as it was his early passion. Bush went to high school at the Kinkaid School in Piney Point Village Texas for two years, and then finished up in the Phillips School in Andover, Massachusetts. Graduating in the class of 1963, the class thought of Bush as a young person of considerable skill and charm. After high school he entered Yale University in 1964, with a SAT score of 1206. Even though his score was a bit below average, he still graduated in 1968 with a grade point average of 2.35. After that, he entered in the Texas Air National Guard with a shaky military career, because he never wanted to fight in combat. His participation was so low he didn’t qualify for combat duty, or an honorable discharge. However, he managed to work out a deal and was honorably discharged even though he did not earn it. He then applied to Harvard business school with a grade point average of 2.35. Compared to today it’s relatively low but managed to graduate with a MBA degree and below average grades. He was elected Governor of Texas in 1994 and was reelected in 1998. When George Bush took office in the very tight 2000-election campaign, it really showed that in office presidents need to be ready for the unexpected. After...

Words: 2299 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Boumediene V. Bush

...Boumediene v. Bush 553 U.S. 723; 128 S. Ct. 2229; 171 L. Ed.2d 41 (2008) Vote: 5-4  Historical Background  September 11, 2001  World Trade Center Attack  Pentagon Attack  September 12, 2001  Article V of the NATO agreement is invoked for the second time  September 18, 2001  The first case of Anthrax attacks in the mail  September 20, 2001  President George W. Bush declares a “War on Terror”  October 2, 2001  NATO backs U.S. military strikes in response to 9/11 attacks  October 5, 2001  Robert Stevens is the first victim of anthrax attacks  October 7, 2001  U.S. invasion of Afghanistan begins.  October 8, 2001  President Bush establishes Offices of Homeland Security  November 13, 2001  President Bush signs an executive order allowing military tribunals of people suspected of being terrorists  Facts  Under the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) the president is authorized “to use all necessary and appropriate force against those he determined planned, aided or committed acts on 9/11/2001 in order to prevent any future acts of terrorism.  Congress enacted Detainee Treatment Act (DTA 2005) that essentially determines a detainee’s status  Military Commissions Act (MCA 2006) was created to The Military Commissions Act was prompted, in part, by the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2006 ruling in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld which rejected the President’s creation of military commissions by executive order and held unmistakably that the protections...

Words: 495 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Micro Bush Tax

...that the tax cuts fueled increases in revenues. The 2001 and 2003 tax cuts were not a good idea because it added about $1.7 trillion to deficits between 2001 and 2008 and because they were financed by borrowing which increases the national debt. In an effort to bolster economic performance, President George W. Bush signed the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 on February 13, 2008. More than two thirds of the $152 billion bill consisted of economic stimulus payments that were sent beginning in May 2008 to approximately 130 million households. As part of the ten-year tax cut bill passed by Congress in the spring of 2001, the Treasury mailed tax rebate checks of up to $300 for single individuals and up to $600 for households from late July and through late September 2001.Of those households receiving the rebate, almost 20% had reported that they would spend it and almost 32 % had reported that they would save the rebate, and 48% had reported that they would pay debt with the rebate. Concerning the impact of the rebates, the conventional wisdom is that the tax rebate signed by President Bush failed to stimulate the economy. The argument that the 2001-2003 Bush tax cuts...

Words: 1802 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

George W. Bush

...Community College George W. Bush A Life in Texas Politics Stephanie A. Wordekemper Texas Government and Local Government 2306 Stephen Black, Professor November 24, 2014 As a controversial hero of mine, when asked to write a paper on a famous Texas political figure, I found it exciting to research and submit a paper on George W. Bush. As controversial as his presidency was, Former President Bush didn’t begin his political career at the federal level, however, he was one of the most famous Texas politicians to date. George W. Bush was the 43rd President of the United States a fact everyone knows, but before going to Washington D.C., there was an entire political and educational life that would lead to him becoming President. First born in New Haven, Connecticut on July 6, 1946, to father, George H. W. Bush, also President of the United States and mother, Barbara Pierce Bush. Being the eldest to four siblings his family relocated to Midland and Houston, Texas. He attended Yale, the alma mater of his Grandfather and Father and also Harvard universities, which he seldom talks about or references. After graduating from college, Bush was commissioned to the Texas Air National Guard where he served as a F-102 fighter pilot and finished active duty in 1970. After leaving the guard, Bush became a business man working in the Oil Field in Midland after graduating with a Masters in business administration. George W. Bush met his wife Laura Welch, a librarian...

Words: 2030 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

George W Bush

...Reflections on World’s Leadership Mr. Bill Gates (Good Leader) Mr. George Walker Bush (Bad Leader) Presented to: Prof. Dr. Hayfaa A. Tlaiss Prepared by: Sarwat Praveen Student Number: 3518229 Section-2 & Group-2 Table of Contents MR. BILL GATES 2 INTRODUCTION2 ABOUT HIS LIFE…2 LEADERSHIP QUALITIES OF BILL GATES4 GROWING AND LEARNING4 HAVING VISION5 CARING ABOUT PEOPLE5 MY PERCEPTION, WHY BILL GATE IS A GREAT LEADER…6 BILL GATE IS MY INSPIRATION7 MR. GEORGE WALKER BUSH8 EARLY LIFE AND CAREER8 MY PERCEPTION, WHY HE IS BAD LEADER9 GEORGE BUSH FIRST PRESIDENTIAL TERM…9 FEW GOOD STEPS TAKEN BY GEORGE BUSH10 GEORG BUSH SECOND PRESIDENTIAL TERM10 GEORGE BUSH POST PRESIDENCY11 HOW DID HIS LEADERSHIP STYLE IMPECT ME AND MY LEADERSHIP STYLE 11 REFRENCES…13 Mr. Bill Gates INTRODUCTION William Henry "Bill" Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate, philanthropist, investor, computer programmer, and inventor. Gates is the former chief executive and chairman of Microsoft, the world’s largest personal-computer software company, which he co-founded with Paul Allen. He is an exceptional leader in the business field. Being named the richest man in the world for the past decade by Forbes magazine, it was clear that Bill Gates must be an outstanding business leader taking his company Microsoft from a small firm that was founded in 1975 to a global company that is worth...

Words: 3049 - Pages: 13

Free Essay

George Bush Speech Analysis

...George Bush Speech Analysis Name: Institution: George Bush Speech Analysis In the evening of September 11 the year 2001, George Bush addressed the United States of America upon the incident of the terrorist attack that had occurred about 12 hours earlier. The attack would define the presidency of Bush that would lead to the changes in the foreign policies of America, the Iraq and Afghanistan interventions as well as years of how to combat terrorism controversies. The president wanted to assure Americans that they still had a functioning government, listing the support from other nations in the terrorism fight and promise and vow to bring those who were involved to justice. That was when men who were 19 in number colluded and worked together to highjack four airplanes that were heading for California. The essay below looks into the various aspects of the speech that the president presented mainly to comfort as well as encourage the Americans despite the attack, in the speech. It looks at the impacts of the address, his resent on the incident, his personality, in addition to his efforts to assure American citizens of the government’s industrious steps to protect them as well as the impacts that the speech had after the proposed counterterrorism measures that involved developing a robust national security as discussed in the paper. The President of America, George Bush addressed upon the unfortunate events of 9-11 that had unfolded in 2011 the month of September...

Words: 2031 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

Just Water Under the Bush

...Just Water Under The Bush? By: Janice Foster There is a term that old folks often say to refer to something that has taken place in the past that cannot be changed and therefore you just get over it. This is easier said than done especially if you are the living reminder of what cannot be changed. All of us have been affected by George w. Bush and his administration whether it is good or bad, directly or indirectly. There are some of us who have been affected in ways that you can only imagine. Sometimes even though something has taken place in the past it can have an important bearing on how you prepare for your future. For Katrina and 911 victims, the term may not be so easy to apply in their lives. The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. George W. Bush is the oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush was elected president in the 2000 general election, and became the second US president whose father had held the same office. Bush did not get into office without some scandal and controversy because On December 8, 2000, the Supreme Court of Florida ordered that the Circuit Court of Leon County tabulate by hand 9,000 ballots in Miami-Dade County. It also ordered the inclusion in the certified vote totals of 215 votes identified in Palm Beach County and 168 votes identified in Miami-Dade County for Vice President Albert Gore, Jr., and Senator Joseph Lieberman...

Words: 3024 - Pages: 13