Approval
ratings for Congress are typically low.
Only recently have they come anywhere near the 50% mark, though with the
lagging economy, they are likely to plummet again. However, approval ratings for individual Congressmen are
considerably higher (most have at least a 60% approval rating or above). There is something to be said for
incumbency, the degree to which individual Congressmen are committed to their
district’s or state’s best interests, and their commitment to the nation as a
whole. For notes on Congress and Public
Opinion, click here.
A.
Why
Was Congress Created?
a.
It
was meant to be the strongest branch of the government
i. Its precedence in the
Constitution indicates its strength relative to the other branches
ii. The Continental Congress
under the Articles of Confederation was ineffective
iii. A necessary check was needed
on strong executive power
b.
Bicameralism
added internal checks to the strongest branch (remember the second argument
from Federalist #51 on how to guarantee separation of powers through giving
each branch of government powers of self-defense)
i. House to represent the
interests of the common people and the larger states (proportionally to the
smaller states)
1.
2
year terms
2.
lower
minimal age
3.
larger
body
ii. Senate to represent the
interests of the business and professional elites and the smaller states
(proportionally to the larger states) (BEFORE the 17th AMENDMENT
which granted the people the right to directly elect senators the same as
representatives)
1.
6
year terms (longer than the president’s term—effectively makes the senate more
elitist than even the chief executive, gives senators more time to gain
experience, and more influence over matters of long-term policy)
2.
higher
minimal age
3.
smaller
body
B.
Powers
of Congress
a.
Enumerated
Powers
i. All those found in Article I
of the Constitution for both Houses to decide
1.
imposition
of taxes/tariffs
2.
borrowing
money
3.
regulation
of interstate commerce and international trade
4.
making
rules/procedures for naturalization of immigrants
5.
regulation
of bankruptcies
6.
coinage
of money/regulation of its value/punishment of counterfeiters
7.
standards
of weights and measures
8.
establishment
of post offices/post roads
9.
regulation
of copyright laws and patent laws
10.
establishment
of inferior federal court system
11.
punishment
of piracy
12.
declaration
of war/creation of army and navy/regulation of state militias (at certain
times)/suppression of insurrection/repulsion of invasion
13.
government
of the District of Columbia
ii. Powers reserved to specific
chambers
1.
Senate
a.
Advice
to the president and consent to his nominations to the federal bench,
ambassadorships, and cabinet officers (Article II, Sec. 2 of the Constitution)
b.
Ratification
of treaties before they become effective for the nation
c.
Power
to try the impeached federal officers
2.
House
of Representatives
a.
Power
of the purse (initiates laws governing taxation and appropriations)
b.
Power
to impeach federal officers, including the president and federal judges
b.
Necessary
and Proper Clause (Article I, Sec. 8 of the Constitution)
i. Allowed for expanded
national government vis-à-vis the states
ii. Checks presidential power to
tyrannize (if Congress does not make provisions for executing its powers as
enumerated in the Constitution, those powers remain unexercised. The president
or cabinet officials cannot step in and make necessary laws when Congress fails
to do so. E.g., the Budget Battle of
1995 that resulted in the government shutdown)
C.
Functions
of Congress
a.
Lawmaking
i. Decisions regarding
enforceable rules that govern society; may affect minor areas or broad areas of
policy concern
ii. Most bills are proposed by
the executive branch, lobbyists, or special interest group.
iii. Congressmen do not write
their own bills (typically). Legislative
aids are hired for that purpose. To say
a Congressman has “authored” a bill is to say that s/he is the principal
sponsor of it through its progress toward becoming a law.
iv. Not every bill that is
proposed becomes law (we’ll get to this later, after spring break)
v. Compromise, compromise,
compromise (almost never will one Congressman have his/her way 100%)
vi. Logrolling
practices—agreement of two or more Congressmen to vote for each other’s bills
(quid pro quo—you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours). Informal alliances that
help smooth the legislative process
vii. Debate and Discussion of the
bills (in committee and on the floor of the chamber)
b.
Constituent
Services
i. Casework: personal work for
individual constituents (e.g., tracking down social security payments; explaining
bills to the constituent who may be affected by them; promotion of local
interests; interceding with regulatory agencies on behalf of the local
constituency)—usually this mundane work is conducted by the congressional
staff; the Congressperson has little or no direct involvement in most of the
daily casework routine.
ii. Acting as an ombudsman
(hearer and investigator of complaints brought by constituents against public
officials or agencies; complexity of government often necessitates
intervention; Congressmen are willing and eager to help, with the hope or
expectation of a guaranteed vote in the next election)
c.
Representative
Function (See notes from previous unit, day 14)
i. Trustees
ii. Delegates
d.
Oversight
Function
i. Following up on laws
Congress has passed to ensure they are enforced in the way Congress intended
them to be
ii. Prevents things from getting
out of hand in the bureaucracy, but allows executive branch to perform its job
functions as well.
iii. Bureaucracy (executive
agencies) created by Congress to execute laws in the manner Congress intended,
but bureaucracy still has considerable freedom to implement rules and policies
to perform its executive function (Laws passed by Congress would have no effect
if the bureaucracy did not implement them)
e.
Public-Education
Function
i. Through open hearings
ii. Through open debates
iii. Through oversight of the
bureaucracy (gives the public a general idea as to how a law was intended to be
enforced)
iv. Through agenda setting (tells
the people what issues they should be concerned about; establishes which
public-policy issues will be debated by Congress)
f.
Conflict-Resolution
Function
i. Accommodate as many as
possible
ii. Recall the definition of
politics from the first day
D.
Differences
Between the Two Chambers of Congress
a.
Size
i. House is large (435 members,
set at this limit in early part of the 20th c.; membership is
proportional to state’s population)
ii. Senate is small (100
members; depends on number of states in the union—each state has two senators)
b.
Rules
i. House rules are more strict,
formal; necessary because of large size/would be too inefficient, otherwise
1.
time
limits on debate set by the Rules Committee
2.
allows
quicker action on bills
ii. Senate rules are more
relaxed, informal; smaller size allows greater collegiality and timer for
interaction b/t members
1.
unlimited
debate—for or against a bill
a.
filibusters
(talking a bill to death, or at least stalling. Usually a tactic used by the
minority party. Longest on record by a
single person is 24 hr. 19 min.—interrupted for a brief moment to swear in a
new senator—against the Civil Rights Bill of 1957 by Strom Thurmond. Longest continuous speech is 22 hr. 26 min.
by Wayne Morse in 1953 against Tidelands Oil Bill; incidentally, a Texas State
Senator has spoken for 43 hrs. straight against a bill on nondisclosure of
industrial accidents)
b.
Filibusters
may be broken only by cloture
i. 16 senators must sign a
petition to end debates
ii. 2 days after petition has
been signed and submitted, 60 senators must agree to end debate
iii. After up to 100 more hours
of debate, the final vote must be taken
c.
Filibusters
are particularly effective when
i. The end of the session is
near, and more urgent business remains to be done; or with the end of the
session, the bill is effectively dead if no vote has been theretofore taken.
ii. There are many senators who
are undecided on a bill’s merits—they may not be willing to vote for a bill
they still have doubts about
iii. The margin of difference
between the two parties in total number of senate seats is razor thin—as it is
today—such that the majority party does not have enough votes to invoke cloture
2.
Senate
is regarded as the “world’s most exclusive club” and the “greatest debating
institution in the world.”
c.
Prestige
i. Senate has more prestige
(smaller membership allows national spotlight to fall on more members)
ii. House has less prestige
(larger membership and more local constituency work against gaining national
attention; desire for prestige encourages specialization/development of expertise
within the chamber—e.g., specializing in tax laws, environmental laws, or
education laws)
For
notes on Congressional Election Campaigns, click here.
i. Occurs once every ten years
ii. The number of House states
for each state can and does change as the populations shift
1.
No
state may have less than one representative, regardless of population
2.
District
populations are roughly equal, per Supreme Court decisions Baker v. Carr
(1962—equal protection clause of 14th amend. guaranteed that reapportionment questions were
justiciable in courts of law. It was
previously the responsibility of the state to draw districts however it
desired; the only thing affected by population was the number of seats
in the individual state legislatures; it was not uncommon to elect two or more
representatives from the same district; nothing in the Constitution requires
districting), Reynolds v. Sims (1964—both houses of state legislatures must
be apportioned with equally populated districts—first time “one person, one
vote” became the rule); Wesberry v. Sanders (1964—made the “one person,
one vote” rule applicable to Congressional districts)
3.
Prior
to Supreme Court decisions requiring “one person, one vote,” many districts
contained several times the population of other districts, thus limiting their
overall power and influence. Rural
districts benefited tremendously from the malapportionment; urban districts
suffered.
i. Responsibility of the State
legislatures to do this
ii. Power to redraw districts
may be delegated to legislative redistricting committees
iii. Gerrymandering—drawing
district lines to obtain partisan or factional advantage (e.g., a Republican
controlled state legislature will seek to minimize the influence of Democratic
voters by either
1.
drawing
a minimal number of districts with Democratic majorities, or
2.
spreading very thinly the Democratic voting
population so that they are not the majority in any district)
3.
All
that is really required by federal statute is contiguity of the districts—can
result in very wacky shapes
4.
Gerrymandering
can backfire
a.
“Minority-Majority”
Districts—creation of districts that have a majority population of a particular
minority group (e.g, African Americans or Hispanics)
b.
Supreme
Court has declared in several cases that these “minority-majority” districts
are unconstitutional because they deny equal protection under the law, and has
ordered redrawing of many of these districts to fit into the Constitutional
requirement.
i. As of 2003, 108th
Congress, salaries for ordinary members of both House and Senate are $150,000
ii. President Pro Tem, Majority
Leader and Minority Leader of the Senate earn $166,700
iii. Speaker of the House earns $192,600;
Majority Leader/Minority Leader earn $166,700
i. franking (mailing without
paying postage—simply stamping a signature on an envelope), etc.
ii. Large Staffs to help with
casework, drafting of legislation, answering mail, dealing with the media,
maintaining local or state offices
1.
House
staffs are about half size of Senate staffs
2.
Staff
sizes have increased significantly over the last 40 years
iii. Professional Staffs not
linked with a specific Congressional office
1.
Congressional
Research Service (CRS)—furnishes information on legislative status of major
bills, their contents, etc.
2.
General
Accounting Office (GAO)—audits spending by federal agencies, investigates
agency practices (oversight), makes financial policy recommendations
3.
Congressional
Budget Office (CBO)—advises on anticipated affect of the economy of government
expenditures/estimates cost of proposed policies (works as the Congressional
counterpart to the executive Office of Management and Budget (OMB).)
i. Scheduling of
hearings/testimony for and against bills
ii. Schedule committee votes on
bills
iii. Decide which subcommittee
will consider which bills within that committee’s jurisdiction
i. Most important in Congress
(see list on page 349 of book); almost all legislation considered by at least
one standing committee
ii. Permanently established by
rules of each Chamber; last beyond one session; each has a specific area of
legislative policy jurisdiction (e.g., Agriculture, Armed Services, Budget)
iii. Most have numerous
subcommittees
iv. Some standing committees
considered more prestigious than others (e.g., Appropriations [both chambers],
Ways and Means [House only], House Education and the Workforce Committee, and
Senate Foreign Relations Committee)
v. House members typically
serve on two standing committees (except when the member serves on
Appropriations, Ways and Means, or Rules Committees)
vi. Senate members usually serve
on two major standing committees and one minor committee
i. Temporarily established for
special purposes
ii. Examples are the Senate
Select Committees on Ethics and Intelligence (107th Congress) and
the House Select Committee on Intelligence (107th Cong.)
iii. Are typically disbanded
after they have reported to the full chamber
iv. Rarely create original
legislation—usually make only recommendations
i. Composed of members of both
chambers of Congress
ii. May be permanent or
temporary
iii. Examples are the Joint
Committees on the Economy, Printing, Library of Congress, and Taxation (107th
Congress)
i. Special types of joint
committees appointed to reconcile differences between two versions of a bill
(one from each chamber) before final passage by the full chambers
ii. Bills must pass both
chambers in the exact same form in order to be sent to the president for
signature or veto—final wording is worked out in these committees
iii. Often make major decisions
and conduct vigorous policy debates
i. Gatekeeper of the
legislation under consideration in the House and its committees
ii. Sets the rules for debate
and amendment of each bill that comes before the full House (since 1883)
iii. Is the only committee that
can meet when the full House is in session
iv. Is the only committee that
can originate legislation on its own
v. Is the only committee that
can have its resolutions considered immediately on the floor
i. House
1.
Appointed
by Steering Committee of the member’s party (# of seats usually assigned
according to strength of the party in the full chamber; e.g., in the 108th
Congress, Republicans hold the majority on committees, Democrats the minority)
2.
Majority-party
members with seniority are given preference when selecting chairpersons and
other posts in the chamber (this is CUSTOM, not law. Some rules changes have lessened the effect of seniority in the
House since the 1970s. It is unequal,
but it usually provides predictability and encourages development of expertise)
3.
Representatives
of ‘safe seats’ (districts that vote in favor of the incumbent with 55% or more
of the vote) usually gain seniority the fastest and with the greatest ease
4.
Chairpersons
limited, as of 1995, to six-year service as their committee’s leader
ii. Senate
1.
Much
the same as the House, with some modifications
2.
Seniority
much more a factor
3.
Unlimited
terms as chairpersons, provided the party remains in the majority
i. Speaker of the House
1.
Most
powerful member of the national legislature
2.
Is
always a member of the majority party, though no Constitutional provision
requires s/he be a duly elected, voting member of the House.
3.
Typically
is considered the official leader of the majority party in the House, though
technically is in a non-partisan position
4.
Candidates
for speaker are nominated by each party at the beginning of each session of
Congress (every other year); unanimity usually is the rule as each party votes
in whole for the candidate of its choice.
5.
Speaker’s
power usually based on personal prestige, persuasive ability, and knowledge of
the legislative process, as well as the support or acquiescence of other
representatives
6.
Formal
powers
a.
Presiding
over the meetings of the House
b.
Appointing
members of joint committees and conference committees
c.
Scheduling
legislation for floor action
d.
Deciding
points of order and interpreting the rules with the advice of the House
parliamentarian
e.
Referring
bills and resolutions to the appropriate standing committee of the House
7.
Speaker
may debate and vote as any other member, but recently they vote only in case of
ties (to preserve the non-partisanship of their position)
8.
Access
to information and communications unavailable to other members of the House
9.
Power
to appoint his/her party’s steering committee
10.
Often
(as with Gingrich in 1995) appoints chairmen directly, without regard for
seniority
11.
Can
use the formal powers and informal powers to any degree he/she wishes; must be
careful not to alienate party members or his/her voters at large
ii. Majority Leader
1.
Position
held by influential member of the House (108th Congress—Tom Delay,
R-Tex.)
2.
Usually
is selected in party caucus or conference in order to foster cohesion among
majority party members
3.
Acts
as spokesperson for the majority party in the House (usually, though not
always, more ideological than the Senate counterpart)
4.
Influences
scheduling of debate
5.
Acts
as chief supporter of the Speaker
6.
Acts
as liaison with both the internal and external party leaders to formulate
party’s legislative agenda/policy and guide it through the House
iii. Minority Leader
1.
Position
held by influential member of the minority party in the House (108th
Congress—Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.)
2.
Usually
the candidate nominated for Speaker by the minority party
3.
Maintains
cohesion between the minority party’s House members
4.
Speaks
on behalf of president if the president is of the minority party
5.
Consults
with the Speaker and the Majority Leader on recognition of members who wish to
debate, scheduling of legislation for consideration, and various rules and
procedures (has no formal power in these matters)
iv. Whips
1.
Assistants
who aid the majority or minority leader in House
2.
Pass
information from the leadership down to the other legislators of their party
3.
Work
to ensure all legislators are present for debates and votes on important
matters
4.
Poll
party members about their views on certain pieces of legislation, inform the
leaders of the results, and pressure legislators to respond to the leaders’
positions positively
i. Vice-President
1.
Constitutionally
the presiding officer of the Senate, though very rarely present at actual
debates and votes
2.
Votes
only in case of a tie
ii. President Pro Tempore
1.
Presiding officer in absence of
vice-president (usually the member of the majority party with longest
continuing term of service)
2.
Usually
a ceremonial position, though s/he is in the presidential line of succession
3.
Presiding
functions are usually carried out by other Senators
iii. Majority Floor Leader (Bill
Frist, R-Tenn., 108th Congress)
1.
Chief
spokesperson for majority party in the Senate
2.
Directs
the legislative program and party strategy
3.
Right
to be recognized first in floor debates
4.
Other
powers are very similar to those of House Majority Leader and some of the
powers of the Speaker of the House
5.
Expected
to mobilize support for partisan legislative initiatives or proposals from the
President if of the majority party
6.
Elected
by the party caucus
iv. Minority Floor Leader (Tom
Daschle, D.-S.D., 108th Congress)
1.
Much
the same power as the Majority Leader
2.
Right
to be recognized in floor debates
3.
Cooperates
with President if he is of the minority party
4.
Elected
by party caucus
v. Whips
1.
Same
powers generally as the House Whips, but with less formality because of the
smaller number of votes to count and manage
For notes on Congress and Special Interests, click here.
i. Each bill is assigned a number for tracking purposes in each chamber, usually corresponding to the order the legislation is filed or designated by a certain number for specific ceremonial reasons
1. in the House, the format is “H.R. –“
2. In the Senate, the format is “S. –“
ii. If a bill is filed concurrently in both chambers of Congress, the tracking numbers of the bills do not necessarily coincide
i. In the House, the Speaker has the final say over which committee the bill is sent to
ii. In the Senate, the majority leader assigns bills to the various committees
i. Hearings are scheduled, if the chairman wishes
ii. Amendments may be made
iii. A vote is taken
1. if a majority agrees, the bill is sent to the full committee for approval
2. if a majority of subcommittee does not agree, the bill dies
i. Further hearings are heard, if the chairman wishes (if chairman does not bring bill up for consideration, the bill dies)
1. in the House, if 218 representatives sign a petition after a bill has been in committee for at least 30 days, the committee must release the bill for consideration by the full House
2. No such provision for discharge petition exists in the Senate
ii. Amendments may be made
iii. A vote is taken
1. if a majority agrees, the bill is sent to
a. in the House, the Rules Committee
i. Rules are set to determine length of debate, allowable amendments, etc.
ii. If the Rules committee does not act, the bill dies
iii. If the Rules committee does report a bill out of committee, the Speaker has final discretion over bringing a bill up for debate
iv. If bill is never brought to the floor of the House, the bill dies
b. in the Senate, the floor, at the discretion of the majority leader
2. if a majority does not agree, the bill dies
i. In the House, according to the rules set by the Rules committee
1. time limits on each member’s speech
2. amendments proposed must usually be germane to the bill
3. Each amendment must be voted on separately in order to become part of the bill; amendment dies if majority does not wish to add it
ii. In the Senate, there are no specific rules by which a bill must be debated
1. unlimited debate allowed; each member may speak for as long as s/he wishes => potential for filibusters at several turns (on any amendment offered, on the bill itself, on the question of whether even to consider a bill on the floor)
2. amendments usually do not have to be germane to the bill in consideration
a. “Riders” may be attached—pork barrel spending often comes into play here
b. Frivolous amendments may be proposed in order to stall action or defeat a bill
c. Each amendment must be voted on separately; amendment dies if majority does not wish to add it
iii. In either chamber, upon a motion and majority vote to do so, an amendment or bill may be tabled, i.e., killed, without further debate. (this motion can be used in the committees as well)
i. If bill has been considered in only one chamber, and if it is passed, the bill goes to the other chamber for consideration in the manner described above
ii. If bill has been considered in both chambers, and if it is passed in both chambers, the bill goes straight to conference committee
iii. If bill is defeated in either chamber, the bill is dead
i. “Mark-up” process begins—ironing out the differences between the two versions of the bill
ii. Compromise is the name of the game played; no one is going to get everything through that s/he desires
i. If passed in both chambers, the bill is sent to the President
ii. If it fails in one or both chambers, the bill is dead
i. President has several options
1. May sign the bill, in which case it becomes law
2. May veto the bill, in which case, the bill is sent back to the Congress with reasons for the veto
a. Congress may override the veto if 2/3 of both chambers agree; the bill would then be law
b. Bill is dead if in one or both chambers, 2/3 of the members do not vote in favor of the bill
3. May refuse to sign or veto the bill
a. If the Congress is in session 10 days after the President has been presented the bill (excluding Sundays), the bill becomes law
b. If the Congress is not in session 10 days (excluding Sundays) after the President has been presented the bill, the bill is dead (the so-called “Pocket veto”)
ii. Bills that die in Congress or anywhere along the route to becoming law cannot be reconsidered during that session of Congress in which they were introduced. (e.g., if a bill is introduced in the present 108th Congress and dies anywhere along the way, that bill cannot be considered again until the 109th Congress meets beginning in January 2005, at which time it will be subject to the same process from the very beginning once again).
i. The president MUST accept or reject a bill in full
ii. This often means accepting spending or cuts he does not really want in order to keep the government functioning)
I. The Theory Itself—war is such an evil that there is a strong presumption against it (this recognizes the fact that there is sometimes a legitimacy to going to war)—Theory originated in Catholic Theology but has been expanded by numerous other philosophies and theologies
a. Two points:
i. Jus ad bellum: Right to go to war
ii. Jus in bello: Justice exercised in war
b. Theory starts out with the presumption of peace
i. Jus ad bellum—five conditions
1. just cause
2. declared by a competent authority
3. evil connected with war has to be outweighed in proportion to the good achieved—the good achieved must be greater than the evil perpetrated in the conduct of war
4. hope of success
5. last result
ii. jus in bello—two limits
1. proportionality between means used and the end attained
2. discrimination—non-combatant immunity (force cannot be used against innocent civilians)
II. Possible Justification for Going to War
a. Question of human sinfulness or depravity, how could anyone justify killing another human being?
i. St. Augustine—Christians must love their neighbours, but if neighbour is A is attacking neighbour B, then we must show love for B by repelling the attack of A
ii. (With Locke, it becomes a matter of defending one’s own natural and inalienable rights and the rights of others to life, liberty, and property)
b. Eschatological perspective: relationship of the fullness of God’s reign now and future
i. Fullness of such a reign is not yet here, so there is a tension between present and future, between human sinfulness and complete salvation, making the use of force acceptable at times in hope of hastening the coming new age (though in Christian and other religious thought, “force” is only a last resort if persuasion has failed)
ii. (In secular Marxist thought, the utopian society is not yet achieved; man must be purged from his ignorance and superstition, but by persuasion, not by force. “Force” is still the last resort to bringing in the new age. Totalitarian Marxist regimes have corrupted the persuasion rule by applying force to those who dissent from the rapid modernization of society.)
c. Understanding of a Church as distinguished from a sect
i. Sect says the world is evil, and its members must withdraw from it (e.g., the Amish)
ii. Church says its members have a responsibility for the world, to try to make it better despite its imperfections (ergo, we cannot always turn the other cheek—e.g., we cannot, as society, forgive war criminals to the point we let them off without due punishment)
iii. (Secular ideologies like Marxism also contend that there is a responsibility to society, and that we have to take up that responsibility if conditions are ever going to change)
d. Ethical Considerations
i. Human existence cannot be reduced to only one value (e.g., freedom is not absolute; peace is not absolute)
ii. Justice and peace will always be in tension with one another (if we demand justice, then peace cannot always be the path)
e. Structural Problem in Our World Today
i. Locally, there is a central force that is alone able to use force
ii. But there is no authority as such on the world scene (the UN does not have the coercive power or moral authority it needs to be a supranational legislative or police body)
f. Disagreement among Religious Adherents Over Use of Force
i. Two types of Religious Non-Violence
1. witness pacifism (bearing witness to non-violence, no matter what the consequences. This is a deontological approach—out of duty)
2. effective pacifism (non-violent opposition is best way to bring about change. This is a teleological argument—concerned with ultimate ends)
III. Reasons to Justify Limits and Conditions for War
a. Conditions of going to war
i. War is hell, brings with it great horrors
ii. Must be proportionally good reason to overcome evils
b. War can fulfill negative purpose of eliminating a problem at best; it does nothing to bring about positive peace and justice. (It solves an immediate problem, but it does not solve the long-term dilemma)
i. Non-combatant immunity—we can never directly attack innocent civilians
ii. Therefore actions like the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were unjust, just as the terrorist attacks today are unjust
iii. U.S. policy since the First Gulf War has been not to talk about or target innocent civilians—‘collateral damages’ have to be assessed, but there is no deliberate targeting of civilians
c. Three Temptations of Going to War
i. The militarily powerful are all too readily willing to go to war, use violence, forgetting the limits of what war can accomplish
ii. Believers in God are tempted by a concept of Holy War (leaders of U.S. have no doubt about whose side God is on—make God into our image and likeness rather than acknowledging how vastly different He is); transcendence of God must involve a critical aspect for us
iii. Victims of evil are tempted to identify themselves totally with the force of Good (no one is totally good or totally evil, nor is any nation)
iv. Terrorism will not be cured by a war.
IV. Reaction to Terrorism
a. Afghanistan
i. Policy could be justified on basis we were directly targeting the Taliban and al-Qaeda; no doubt that al-Qaeda is bearer of force
ii. We are not bringing peace and justice into Afghanistan
iii. Still plenty of al-Qaeda left
iv. Collateral damage has to be accrued
b. Iraq
i. Preemptive strike can be justified from a theoretical aspect (someone says he has a gun, and we stop him)
ii. Danger is that the strike is exaggerated and abused in the process (difficulty of determining when a person is threatening or not)
iii. Saddam is causing problems for Iraq and the world
iv. If Saddam has nuclear weapons, so what—so has the U.S. for over 50 years (he has to have the intent to use them in the immediate future and there must be no other way to deter him from using them in order to justify the U.S.’s action against Iraq as a preemptive strike)
v. At best, we will only eliminate Saddam, but that does not bring peace and justice to Iraq
vi. Danger of self-deception (we must have prudence in going about things—executive does not declare war alone; cooperation with the international community—there is not an absolute human authority)