Focuses on the recent "Enemy Combatant Cases" to provide a stern critique of the legal and constitutional basis for the enormous expansion of presidential power during the Bush administration's "War on Terror," and the challenges (especially in the Supreme Court) that such expansion has inspired.

The American presidency has long tested the capacity of the system of checks and balances to constrain executive power, especially in times of war. While scholars have examined presidents starting military conflicts without congressional authorization or infringing on civil liberties in the name of national security, Stuart Streichler focuses on the conduct of hostilities. Using the treatment of war-on-terror detainees under President George W. Bush as a case study, he integrates international humanitarian law into a constitutional analysis of the repercussions of presidential war powers for human rights around the world. Putting President Bush’s actions in a wider context, Presidential Accountability in Wartime begins with a historical survey of the laws of war, with particular emphasis on the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the Nuremberg Tribunal. Streichler then reconstructs the decision-making process that led to the president’s approval of interrogation methods that violated Geneva’s mandate to treat wartime captives humanely. While taking note of various accountability options—from within the executive branch to the International Criminal Court—the book illustrates the challenge in holding presidents personally responsible for violating the laws of war through an in-depth analysis of the actions taken by Congress, the Supreme Court, and the public in response. In doing so, this book not only raises questions about whether international humanitarian law can moderate wartime presidential behavior but also about the character of the presidency and the American constitutional system of government.

Contents: (1) Intro.; (2) Early Developments in the Detention and Trial of Enemy Combatants Captured in the ¿War on Terror¿: Rasul v. Bush; Combatant Status Review Tribunals; (3) Pre-Boumediene v. Bush Court Challenges to the Detention Policy: Khalid v. Bush; In re Guantanamo Detainee Cases; Hamdan v. Rumsfeld; Al-Marri; (4) Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 (DTA); (5) The Mil. Comm. Act of 2006 (MCA): Provisions Affecting Court Jurisdiction; Provisions Re: the Geneva Conventions; (6) Post-MCA Issues and Developments: Possible Application to U.S. Citizens; DTA Challenges to Detention; (7) Boumediene v. Bush: Constitutional Right to Habeas; Adequacy of Habeas Corpus Substitute; Implications of Boumediene; (8) Exec. Order to Close Guantanamo and Halt Mil. Commission Proceed.; (9) Redefining U.S. Detention Authority; (10) Constitutional Considerations and Options for Congress; Scope of Challenges; Congressional Authority over Fed. Courts; Separation of Powers Issues; (11) Conclusion: Nat. Def. Author. Provisions; Habeas Corpus Amend.; Bills to Regulate Detention. Figures.

"The Constitution and 9/11 provides a comprehensive, striking, and disturbing analysis of executive misuse of power that is made all the more compelling by placing it in a rich and fascinating historical contest. No better book is available for placing post-9/11 government actions in the matrix of history and explaining how executive power has degraded the Constitution and citizen rights."--William G. Weaver--Back cover.

The Republican-led Congress has been notoriously slow to investigate the current Republican administration. For that reason, Representative Conyers of Michigan commissioned his staff to put together the report that became The Constitution in Crisis. It chronicles the deceptions, manipulations, and retributions of President George W. Bush and his administration. Did the President mislead the country in order to invade Iraq? Have suspected “evil-doers” been tortured in violation of U.S. and international laws? Has the National Security Agency eaves-dropped on American citizens in violation of wire tapping laws? This report is a must-read for anyone concerned about the direction of our nation! Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Weaving together firsthand accounts of military personnel who witnessed the interrogations with the words of the prisoners themselves, Margulies exposes the chilling reality of Guantanamo Bay.