eBook

Watchdogs on the Hill

Fowler, Linda L

2015

Overview

An essential responsibility of the U.S. Congress is holding the president accountable for the conduct of foreign policy. In this in-depth look at formal oversight hearings by the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, Linda Fowler evaluates how the legislature's most visible and important watchdogs performed from the mid-twentieth century to the present. She finds a noticeable reduction in public and secret hearings since the mid-1990s and establishes that American foreign policy frequently violated basic conditions for democratic accountability. Committee scrutiny of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, she notes, fell below levels of oversight in prior major conflicts. Fowler attributes the drop in watchdog activity to growing disinterest among senators in committee work, biases among members who join the Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, and motives that shield presidents, particularly Republicans, from public inquiry. Her detailed case studies of the Truman Doctrine, Vietnam War, Panama Canal Treaty, humanitarian mission in Somalia, and Iraq War illustrate the importance of oversight in generating the information citizens need to judge the president's national security policies. She argues for a reassessment of congressional war powers and proposes reforms to encourage Senate watchdogs to improve public deliberation about decisions of war and peace. Watchdogs on the Hillinvestigates America's national security oversight and its critical place in the review of congressional and presidential powers in foreign policy.

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Subject: 1972 / 20Th Century / Abu Ghraib prison / Advice and consent / American Government / Anti-Federalism / Clark Clifford / Cold War / Cold War (1985–91) / Committee / Congress / Covert operation / Crisis management / Dean Rusk / Demagogue / Executive Branch / Executive session / Externality / Filibuster (military) / Foreign policy / Foreign relations / Frank Church / George Kennan (explorer) / George McGovern / George W. Bush / Guerrilla warfare / Hamdan v. Rumsfeld / Hide in Plain Sight / History / HISTORY / World / Insurgency / International crisis / International Relations / Isolationism / J. William Fulbright / Jim DeMint / Jim Inhofe / Jimmy Carter / Joe Lieberman / Law / Legislative Branch / Legislative oversight / Legislative oversight -- United States / Military / Military advisor / Military exercise / Military occupation / Military operation / National security / National Security Committee / National Security Committee (Ireland) / Ogaden War / Olympia Snowe / Operation Rolling Thunder / Opposition Party / Paul Laxalt / Policy debate / Political agenda / POLITICAL SCIENCE / POLITICAL SCIENCE / General / POLITICAL SCIENCE / International Relations / General / Politics and government / Presidential Statement / Prisoner of war / Protective tariff / Public inquiry / Richard Fenno / Robert Gates / Robert McNamara / Running mate / Sam Nunn / Slippery slope / State actor / Stonewalling / Strategic goal (military) / Term limit / The Administrative State / The Public Interest / Tim Kaine / United States / United States -- Foreign relations / United States -- Politics and government / United States presidential election / United States presidential election, 1972 / War / War in Darfur / Warfare / Weapon system / Welfare / Woodrow Wilson
• ISBN: 9781400866465, 1400866464, 9780691151625, 0691151628, 069115161X, 9780691151618