ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the societal and institutional factors within the American political system impacted the Bush administrations policy on global terrorism. It demonstrates the extent to which a significant international event, the attacks of September 11, had the effect of enhancing presidential leadership for a time and also reducing the effectiveness of domestic constraints once that policy came under criticism. The first former Democratic member of Congress is Lee Hamilton and the second former Republican member is Mickey Edwards. James M. Lindsay has aptly summarized how the international arena affects congressional deference to the president: Times of peace favor congressional activism, while times of war favor congressional deference. The events of September 11 were, of course, directly the source for the American action initiated on October 7, 2001 against the Taliban in Afghanistan. The results of the 2002 congressional elections revealed exactly how important the events of 2001 remained for the American electorate.
