Executive Order 12333
Earlier, Den Beste wrote that President Bush had rescinded the infamous Executive Order banning assasination of foreign leaders and heads of state. That would be a provision of Executive Order 12333, put in effect by President Reagan in 1981. I couldn't recall that order being rescinded, which would have been a significant change in American foreign policy (and missing it would have meant I was falling down on my job), and emailed Den Beste earlier, who insisted it was rescinded prior to our entering Afghanistan.
After searching through the National Archives records online (which is really a pretty fine collection), I can find no record of that order being rescinded in President Bush's
Executive Orders (which would be the mechanism the President would have to use to rescind a prior Executive Order on his own authority).
The Administration has gotten around the order, in the case of Osama bin Laden and his Al Qaeda associates, simply by treating them as terrorist combatants -- not as heads of state or equivalent (who would be subject to the protection of the anti-assassination provision). And that's all well and good in that case, but will the U.S. similarly restrict itself in the case of Saddam Hussein? That's the question raised by Rich Lowry in this NRO piece, where he also indicates, unfortunately, that the Executive Order in question is still in effect -- and that it should be rescinded. Claremonster Angelo Codevilla, a strategist (not to mention translator of one of the better editions of Machiavelli's Prince) has argued the same, well before 11 September.
In any case, my reaction is mixed. I'm glad I didn't totally miss what would have been an important change in American foreign policy. But then again, I'm disappointed that the Executive Order continues to constrain the conduct of American foreign policy.
[Posted at 01:07 CST on 05/16/02] [Link]
