New Blog 1: Bending Branches

Bending Branches

It is axiomatic that the terror attacks of 9/11 fundamentally altered the balance of power between the three branches of government. For nearly three years following the assault, while the death and destruction was freshest in the minds of those who lived through it, and while al-Qaeda posed its greatest threat to national security, Congress eagerly ceded vast power and authority to the executive branch. The judiciary almost without exception bowed to the wishes of administration officials and their functionaries. And President George W. Bush successfully convinced a wounded and angry American populace that a different kind of war required new and different kinds of war powers for the executive branch. This period lasted 1,031 days, from September 11, 2001, until June 28, 2004. Let's call it the Age of Fear.