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In Washington, the Real Power Lies With the Spooks, Eavesdroppers and Assassins
There are two governments — a double government — operating today in the realm of national security. There’s the one the voting public thinks they control when they go to the polls — what Glennon refers to as the “Madisonian institutions.” Congress, the courts and the presidency.
And there’s the “Trumanite network,” the labyrinthine national security apparatus that encompasses the military, intelligence and law enforcement communities that Pres. Harry Truman created when he signed the National Security Act of 1947.
Our social studies classes teach us that the Madisonians control the Trumanites, but that’s a myth. “The courts, Congress and even the president in reality impose little constraint,” Glennon writes. “Judicial review is negligible, congressional oversight dysfunctional and president control nominal.”
There are two governments — a double government — operating today in the realm of national security. There’s the one the voting public thinks they control when they go to the polls — what Glennon refers to as the “Madisonian institutions.” Congress, the courts and the presidency.
And there’s the “Trumanite network,” the labyrinthine national security apparatus that encompasses the military, intelligence and law enforcement communities that Pres. Harry Truman created when he signed the National Security Act of 1947.
Our social studies classes teach us that the Madisonians control the Trumanites, but that’s a myth. “The courts, Congress and even the president in reality impose little constraint,” Glennon writes. “Judicial review is negligible, congressional oversight dysfunctional and president control nominal.”
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