Balkinization  

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Presumably the President's Phone Call Wasn't Cleared with David Addington

Marty Lederman

Said President Bush to General Musharraf yesterday: "You can’t be the president and the head of the military at the same time."

Of course, under our own Constitution, the President must be the head of the military. Indeed, that very Commander-in-Chief Clause has been the source of many of President Bush's own most aggressive claims of unilateral and unchecked power in the conflict with al Qaeda and the war in Iraq. As Bush himself delightfully puts it in his inimitable, colloquial way, "I'm the commander guy."

So perhaps President Bush was lecturing General Musharraf about Pakistani law? [UPDATE: According to one commenter, apparently so!, because under Pakistani law, unlike our own, the President cannot be a general in the military. I have no idea whether this is correct, but assuming it is, there's surely nothing wrong with Bush lecturing Musharraf on the latter's violation of Pakistani law. (It's good to see the President taking such an interest in comparative international law.) I look forward to Musharraf's reply that President Bush has no constitutional authority to torture and to violate FISA -- under U.S. law, of course.]

Older Posts
Newer Posts
Home