The Law : Libya, Syria, ISIS, and the Case against the Energetic Executive

Dick Cheney, John Yoo, and others incorrectly claim that Alexander Hamilton's vision of an “energetic executive” contemplated a president with broad, even plenary power over the use of military force. In fact, neither Hamilton's writings nor the text of the Constitution itself embraces this notion. In practice, unilateral presidential decisions to order the use of military force have been neither wise nor necessary, outside of the limited emergency defensive context. Recent episodes involving Libya, Syria, and ISIS expose the failure of the energetic executive model.