Book description
The Korean War, the Bay of Pigs, the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam,
Cambodia, Lebanon, El Salvador, Grenada, Iran-Contra, Nicaragua,
Panama, the Gulf War, Somalia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq
What do these events and scores of others have in common? Each of
these wars, incursions, invasions, and covert actions was undertaken
by the United States without the benefit of a declaration of war.
Where congressional sanction was sought, it usually took the form of a
resolution, frequently issued after the fact.
Presidents at War is the first book to examine all of America's
post-World War II military actions through the lens of the president's
authority as commander in chief. Author Gerald Astor analyzes the
various presidents' rationales for undeclared warfare, from Truman's
citing of an international agreement (the United Nations) to
Eisenhower's domino theory, to Kennedy's defense of the Monroe
Doctrine, to bald assertions of authority by a commander in chief
because of fears of communist expansion, threats to oil in the Middle
East, humanitarian concerns in the Balkans, or provocations by
terrorists. Each commander in chief served as a precedent for those
who followed. Astor contends this cumulative process was accelerated
by the September 11, 2001, attacks that led to the war on terrorism,
the invasion of Iraq to oust the cruel regime of Saddam Hussein for
his alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction, and the
potential trampling of civil liberties in the United States.
Has the president become free to take military action on the
slightest whim? Is it now true that, as Richard Nixon said, "If
the president does it, then it is not illegal"? Is the
Constitution obsolete? And does Congress have the tools with which to
curb this seemingly unbridled power? Read Presidents at War and
find out.
A former magazine writer and editor, GERALD ASTOR
has published twenty-four books, twelve on World War II, including
The Jungle War: Mavericks, Marauders, and Madmen in the
China-Burma-India Theater of World War II, also available from
Wiley. He lives in Scarsdale, New York.
