Looking back over the last decade, we can see three important legal developments that prevented further attacks on the United States. President Bush chose to treat the 9/11 attacks as an act of war, not crime. Our national security agencies began to share intelligence and our military developed quick-strike capabilities to exploit it. Our separation of powers worked and civil liberties remain robust.
Critics commonly assert that the president went too far in the war on terror and individual liberties have suffered. But the Framers intended the Constitution to create a system where the branches of government would struggle over national security policy, and that is what we’ve seen the last 10 years. Also during that time, political speech and activity has exploded, thanks to the Internet, social media, and radio and cable talk shows. All that political debate has produced several changes in party control of the presidency and Congress, the real check on any abuses of power.
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