An article in the Australian states: "It was not clear whether President George W. Bush was briefed."A The article centers on the claims that the US government was extensively briefed on the potential dangers of invading Iraq.A So, the "decider" may or may not have been briefed but decided to invade Iraq anyhow…A Sounds really decisive to me.
AIt has never been very clear as to what Bush actually knows about anything so this "news" is not very surprising but it does give some insightAinto how this administration has managed to make such a colossal mess of things during its term in office.
Ap.s. It is also not "clear" as to whether or not N. Korea managed to detonate a nuke but whatever it was that they did sure madeABushco change course in a hurry…A Perhaps Bush was "briefed"?
The idea that the Congress and / or The Supreme Court provides a brake of the Presidency is regularly exposed as a “myth” by supporters of the “Old Republic”. In it’s place the idea of “the Imperial Presidency” has been promoted as an explanation of how things really work. But it’s not clear that that idea is not a half truth either.
Take for example the recent Vanity Fair article called “The Kissinger Presidency”. The story, if true, and it’s written by Robert Dallek, an important and experienced historian of Presidential power, is that Henry K was responsible for taking the US to it’s highest state of military preparedness since WW2 …other than the Cuban Missile Crisis. That’s pretty important stuff. According to Dallek, President Nixon was barely informed of the whole process. In effect the real Commander in Chief was an aide. So fast forward to today. Has history repeated itself? Has the US has evolved from a republic to an Imperial Presidency to an Imperial Executive where the President is merely the PR front man?
“…If once the people become inattentive to public affairs, you and I and Congress an Assemblies, Judges and Governors, shall all become wolves. it seems to be the law of our general nature in spite of individual exceptions.”
—–Thomas Jefferson, Notes on The State of Virginia, 1800