lawyers - ? what does title "Commander-in Chief" confer on President

[phoebe]

curious because * was insistent at one time at being referred to as Commander in Chief. Also looking for quotes that refer to this time period and any * admin. personnel that insisted that this should be used when referring to *.. even prior to his election or is this a waste of time??

found this quote..
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/11/17/60minutes/main529657.shtml

snip

Woodward says the president told him that when he chairs a meeting he often tries to be provocative. When Woodward asked him if he tells his staff that he is purposely being provocative, Mr. Bush answered: "Of course not. I am the commander, see?"

President Bush: "I do not need to explain why I say things. — That's the interesting thing about being the President. — Maybe somebody needs to explain to me why they say something, but I don't feel like I owe anybody an explanation."

there is no actual date for when this quote was made..

[northzax]

1. he is the civilian Command Authority for the military

that is all. it was designed to force ultimate control and therefore ultimate responsibility for the military into one elected position.

[CottonBear]

2. I'm not a lawyer but Bush is only commander-in-chief of the armed forces

not of the American people. I would say the term is only appropraite when referring to the military.

[NanceGreggs]

3. The president, by virtue of holding that office ...

... is also the commander-in-chief of all United States military forces. Bush insists on people using that title because he wants to be seen, at all times, as 'the wartime' president - and reference to his role as commander of the armed forces is a constant reminder to the sheeple that we are (allegedly) at war.

[H2O Man]

4. It refers to

the president's roll in being the top civilian over the US military, and generally is used in times of declared war. At question today is this president's error in thinking that the Constitution's granting him that role includes being Commander-in-Chief over civilians. It does not.

[bigtree]

9. an important distinction

completely obscured by Bush . . . naturally adopted by the sheeple.

[Sammy Pepys]

5. Not a lawyer, but....

Section 2. The President shall be commander in chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when called into the actual service of the United States;

Article II, Section 2

I would say the title is just shorthand for describing the power enumerated in the Constitution.

[bigtree]

6. I like this line of thought

good observation phoebe. This should be echoed.

[BushOut06]

7. Ah, the question that has dogged this country for hundreds of years

Since the early years of our nation, presidents have used that excuse to give them power to use the military for all sorts of purposes - some good, some quite questionable. It's important to remember that throughout American history, there have only been 5 declared wars - 1812, Mexican, Spanish-American, WWI, and WWII. Yet there have been hundreds of "undeclared wars" or conflicts (ie Vietnam, Korea, Grenada, Panama, even the Civil War wasn't an officially declared war).

[enough]

8. I recommend this article by law prof David Cole:

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020306F.shtml

NSA Spying Myths  By David Cole
The Nation

snip>

 Myth 5: The President as Commander in Chief cannot be regulated by Congress.

    The Administration's ultimate defense is that even if Bush broke the law, his constitutional authority as Commander in Chief permits him to do so at his discretion. According to the Justice Department, Congress cannot limit his choice of how to "engage the enemy." This rationale is not limited to wiretapping. On the same theory, Justice argued in 2002 that he could order torture despite a criminal statute to the contrary. It is that theory that Bush was presumably invoking when, in signing the amendment barring "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" of terrorism suspects, he said he would interpret it "in a manner consistent with the constitutional authority of the President to supervise the unitary executive branch and as Commander in Chief."

    Bush tried this theory out on the Supreme Court in the Guantanamo cases, when he argued that it would be an unconstitutional intrusion on his Commander in Chief powers to extend habeas corpus review to Guantanamo detainees. Not a single Justice on the Court accepted that radical proposition. But that hasn't stopped Bush from asserting it again. After all, when you get to say what the law is, what's a contrary Supreme Court precedent or two?

snip>

[phoebe]

10. here's another quote - prior to becoming pResident -

http://www.gnn.tv/articles/article.php?id=761

Exclusive: Bush Wanted To Invade Iraq If Elected in 2000
Wed, 27 Oct 2004 15:59:47 -0700 War on my mind By Russ Baker
Two years before 9/11, candidate Bush was already talking privately about attacking Iraq, according to his former ghost writer

snip

“He was thinking about invading Iraq in 1999,” said author and journalist Mickey Herskowitz. “It was on his mind. He said to me: ‘One of the keys to being seen as a great leader is to be seen as a commander-in-chief.’ And he said, ‘My father had all this political capital built up when he drove the Iraqis out of Kuwait and he wasted it.’ He said, ‘If I have a chance to invade….if I had that much capital, I’m not going to waste it. I’m going to get everything passed that I want to get passed and I’m going to have a successful presidency.”


Doesn't anyone else remember when * changed titles of his "sub" commanders in the military???

another quote..

http://www.capitolhillblue.com/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi?archive=13&num=1587

Intelligenced sources say some Arab nations have told US diplomats they may side with Iraq if the U.S. attacks without the backing of the United Nations. Secretary of State Colin Powell agrees with his former colleagues at the Pentagon and has told the President he may be pursuing a "dangerous course."


An angry Rumsfeld, who backs Bush without question, is said to have told the Joint Chiefs to get in line or find other jobs. Bush is also said to be “extremely angry” at what he perceives as growing Pentagon opposition to his role as Commander in Chief.

“The President considers this nation to be at war,” a White House source says,” and, as such, considers any opposition to his policies to be no less than an act of treason.”

[phoebe]

11. and yet others..

http://www.alternet.org/stories/19055

As the plane snapped to a halt, the assembled crew, and the peak time cable TV viewers, could see that "Navy 1" was emblazoned on the body of the aircraft and that just below the co-pilot's cockpit window, assiduous Navy sign painters had stenciled "George W. Bush Commander-in-Chief." In his chic olive-colored flight suit, combat booted, looking every inch the warrior, with his doffed helmet tucked under one arm, Bush raised his other in salute to the cheers of the sailors gathered under a huge banner declaring "Mission Accomplished."

The Republican obsession with the military has never been as deep or more contrived than under Bush, who has tried to exorcise his somewhat ethereal military career by appearing whenever he can in front of made-to-order audiences at military bases or veterans' rallies. The phrase "commander-in-chief" is rarely off the president's lips, especially when he speaks to the military. Nor does he often miss an opportunity to don some form of uniform to further underline his military title.

In eighteen months, more than one in three of his speeches and policy pronouncements have been at military bases and veterans' gatherings. Not for him the unscripted happenstance of Town Hall meetings with voters or un-choreographed press conferences with inquisitive reporters; he is much happier surrounded by people in uniform, snappily saluting and calling him "Sir" and cheering dutifully whenever he pauses.

President Bush's 2003 May Day flight was an outstanding, but by no means isolated, example of Bush's abuse-by-association of the military. He had tried for a double the day before, attempting to conscript both God and the military on his side by hosting 150 military chaplains for a prayer breakfast in the White House. Just as typical was his staged ceremony on July 1 2003 at the White House, where he welcomed thirty reenlisting service people. "Like many thousands of other soldiers, sailors, airmen, coastguardsmen and marines who reenlist this year, these men and women are answering the highest call of citizenship. ... As commander-in-chief, I assure them, we will stay on the offensive against the enemy."

Bush's dress-up pattern was set long ago, as far back as 1970. While campaigning for his father against Lloyd Bentsen, the future President wore his National Guard flight jacket, which is, of course, an uncanny precursor to that flight onto the deck of the U.S.S Abraham Lincoln. Dressed in military duds, he would then, as now, attract approbation in a way that a less sophisticated, less well-connected, long-haired draft evader would never do, which is why it is a wardrobe choice he now returns to often, from the decks of a battleship to the parade grounds of forts and camps all over America.

A random trawl of the newswires and Defense Department White House archives produces the same dazzling pattern of military camouflage. On August 14 2003, the President was telling it to the Marines, at Miramar Marine base in California, "I am proud to be the commander-in-chief of such a fabulous group of men and women who wear our uniform." In November, he was at it again, issuing a proclamation of National Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Week, "in honor of employers across America who have shown their support for our National Guardsmen and Reservists. ... These companies have the gratitude of our nation, they have the gratitude of the commander-in-chief." Oh how he loves that title.

His speech on the first anniversary of the beginning of the war in Iraq was also before a "conscripted" audience at Fort Campbell in Kentucky. There, 20,000 men and women of the 101st Airborne paraded with little handheld flags in their hands and jumbo size banners flying overhead, to provide a backdrop to the President's latest photo-op. For the occasion, the president himself, once again, wore a signature military jacket with "George W. Bush, commander-in chief" over his heart.

Of the many military bases, Fort Hood is the president's favorite, more so since it is conveniently close to his dude ranch in Crawford, Texas. It is also the biggest base in the United States, home to over 40,000 troops. Bush went there during the lead-up to the war in January 2003 to gee up the soldiery in the huge camp, while appropriating the title he loves so much. "Wherever you may be sent, you can know that America is grateful, and your commander-in-chief is confident in your abilities and proud of your service," he told them.