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Conventional wisdom holds that the 9/11 attacks ushered in a new era of unchecked Presidential power. But in his provocative new book, "Power and Constraint: The Accountable Presidency After 9/11," Harvard Law Professor Jack Goldsmith argues that while post 9/11 presidents have exercised far-reaching powers with respect to detention, trials, targeted killings, surveillance and state secrets, they have been more accountable for their national security decisions than ever before, as a result of constraints enforced by congressional committees, government lawyers, courts, and the media. The result, according to Goldsmith, has been to preserve a balanced constitution in the face of a seemingly permanent state of emergency. But how real is this new found Presidential accountability? How desirable is it? How true to our original Constitution? Who decides?
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