ABSTRACT
The scope of the power of the president to protect the nation from its national security threats is the subject of controversy among academics, politicians and the American public. despite the disagreements regarding the extent of the Executive’s authority, the threat of attack by international terrorists against the uS, or its global interests, remains real despite the Bush Administration’s exit from office. In August 2007, then democratic nominee hopeful, Senator Barack Obama, looked tough on national security, vowing that he would send troops to Pakistan if he received intelligence that terrorists were hiding there (MacLeans, 12 November 2007). What role Congress would play in such a decision remained unclear. Obama restated this claim on 1 April 2008 in an interview with Chris Matthews on MSNBC’s Hardball. Since his election to the presidency, Obama has continued uS drones attacks in Pakistan that started under the Bush Administration in early 2008, with no specific authorisation from Congress (Reuters, 13 March 2009).
