Must Have Missed Something Here...

Update: OK, I DID miss something. Phil Carter at Intel Dump notes that the relevant passage in the Constitution is Article II Section 3, in particular, what he calls the "take care" section:

He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information on the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient; he may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, he may adjourn them to such Time as he shall think proper; he shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers; he shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.

Sorry for the mistake, but I don't think it takes away from the gist of this post.

Article II, Section 2 of the United States Constitution reads:

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; he may require the opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.

He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States, whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law: but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments.

The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which shall expire at the end of their next session.

OK. Now, where's the part about "The President will, at his discretion, ignore international treaties/conventions and/or Federal Law, should he or one of his underlings deem it required under the guise of fighting the 'war on terror.'"

I'm gonna go back and look at the entire Section II again...

Nope--it ain't there.

The reason why I checked is because of this article, which I first saw over at Billmon and which is probably linked to from a number of sites by now. Add me as the 2millionth to do so, and here's hoping you've got the time to look at it. I was especially struck by something Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights, said: "Can one imagine the reaction if those on trial for atrocities in the former Yugoslavia had tried this defense?"

Even more stunning than the US crossing the line--let's face it: this isn't the first time the government has resorted to extra-judicial methods, although it certainly is one of the most egregious examples in recent history--but even more significant is the fact that, for all Bush has wrought, he's made about as much of a dent against terrorists as we in the Deep South have made against fireants, which is to say, very little. Rumsfeld even concedes that we might be losing the war, which is Bush speak for "we're fucked." Said the Donald: ''It's quite clear to me that we do not have a coherent approach to this."

No shit.