The Rule of Law is a legal standard that requires the government to use its power according to well-established, clearly defined rules, regulations, and principles of a given society. In other words, “the highest level of authority is a body of law that applies equally to all” (Shafritz, Russell, & Borick, 2016, p. 188). This means that the government and its officials are accountable to the laws of the land. That being said, the laws are only as good as the intentions of those who are interpreting them. When Ronald Reagan took office on January 20, 1981, he promised to continue former President Jimmy Carter’s policy of blocking the sale of arms to Iran on the grounds that Iran had previously been designated as a supporter of …show more content…
The Boland Amendment was a series of three legislative amendments formulated to prohibit federal funding of the Contra insurgency against the Nicaraguan government. It is believed that some at the Reagan administration however, chose to take a rather narrow interpretation of the Boland Amendment so as to have it apply only to U. S. intelligence agencies, thereby allowing the National Security Council (NSC), which was labeled as a White House advisory body, not an intelligence agency, to continue the flow of funds to the Contra rebels (Understanding the Iran-Contra …show more content…
The American public expects this and has a right to it. Ultimately, President Reagan did take full responsibility for his actions and those of his administration (Speech about Iran Arms and Contra Aid Controversy, 1987). As stated in the Rule of Law Handbook, ““the “Rule of Law” is an inherently (and frequently intentionally) vague term” and “the term is used differently in different contexts” (Rule of Law Handbook, 2011). The Rule of Law Handbook goes on to say, “from an operational standpoint, any approach to actually implementing the Rule of Law must take into consideration many variables-cultural, economic, intuitional, and operational-that it may seem futile to seek a single definition for the Rule of Law or how it is to be achieved” (Rule of Law Handbook, 2011). In the field of Public Administration there is a highly-defined structure of constitutional, legal, and procedural requirements that are in place to keep those in power in check. That being said, no matter how stringent the oversight, or how well-meaning the intentions of those who serve, Public Service is a complicated field with many landmines to navigate. As the Iran-Contra Affair illustrates, duties, orders, and responsibilities and can easily conflict with each other because there are so many areas of
Abraham Lincoln became the United States ' 16th President in 1861, delivering the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy in 1863. If there is a part of the United States History that best characterizes it, is the interminable fight for the Civil Rights. This he stated most movingly in dedicating the military cemetery at Gettysburg: "that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain--that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom--and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. "The Declaration of Independence states “All men are created equal”.
... years in office. Even when President Reagan, didn’t make wise decisions, he took full blame for them, which made the American population trust him and gain more popularity. With his many major accomplishments in helping the American people, and putting them first, really helped in his favor. Reagan has built up the US military to what it is now because he believed that we needed to “restore America's ability to defend itself and fulfill its responsibilities as a trustee of freedom and peace in the world” (Wild Thing, January 21, 2006). President Reagan is man that has a heart and soul with America, and will fight for our freedoms and rights for as long as his lives. In 1994, President Reagan got Alzheimer’s disease, left public life, and died on June 5, 2004 from pneumonia. Reagan is still looked up to and is considered one of the greatest Presidents of all time.
...g Israel as a go-between. Millions of dollars from these sales were given to the Contras in complete disregard for the Boland Amendment.
The eighth amendment of the United States Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishments. New Cutting edge technology carries with it the likelihood of new treatment for criminals. A fictional example of such technology is Ludovico treatment, which alters the consciousness of a criminal and makes them non-violent. The use of the Ludovico treatment on prisoners can be considered a cruel and unusual punishment and thus violate the eighth amendment. Even though this treatment may be technically unconstitutional, it would be allowed in the United States for the betterment of society.
The Iran-Contra Affair involved the United States, Iran, and Lebanon. The affair coincided with the Iranian hostage crisis, which promoted the United States’ actions in sending weapons to Iran. The Reagan administration decided to trade arms for hostages in hopes of successfully retrieving American hostages from Iran. Iran was at the time under the power of Ayatollah Khomeini, who had put his full support behind the hostage crisis and believed there was nothing that the United States could do to Iran. America’s only chance of rescuing the hostages was to put their support behind Iran in the Iran-Iraq War, which involved the shipment of weapons to Iran f...
...speech to the world where he was quoted as saying, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” The speech was given at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin (“Mr. Gorbachev, Tear Down This Wall: President Ronald Reagan”). This speech signified the beginning of the end of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. President Reagan’s foreign policy tactics are another reason why he was a great president.
In 1986, Reagan took violent action on his war against terrorism. Reagan started his presidency in 1981 beginning his war on terrorism. The United States has been struggling with having good relations with Libya, specifically relations with Muammar Gaddafi (El-Gadhafi, Quadaffi, Qadhafi). Gaddafi, the Libyan dictator first came to power in 1969. Over the past few decades, the United States tried to solve conflicts with Libya diplomatically (SOURCE). Once Reagan was elected president, he tried to continue the tradition of solving issues using diplomatic ways, however Gaddafi refused to take Reagan’s threats seriously. The conflict with Libya and the United States escalated when it was discovered that Gaddafi was behind the discotheque bombings in West Berlin on April 5th 1986. Gaddafi has violently attacked not only innocent civilians, but had planned assassination attempts on United States officials that were abroad (SOURCE). Gaddafi’s previous actions, led to the bombings in Libya on April 14th 1986, when Operation El Dorado Canyon took place. President Reagan later justified these bombings in his address to the nation the evening the bombings took place (SOURCE?).
In October 1984, Congress voted to cut off all aid to the contras. Administration actions. The Reagan Administration sought ways to continue aiding the contras after the congressional ban. At first, it secretly raised funds from several foreign countries and wealthy Americans to help finance the contra efforts. In 1985, the Administration initiated a secret "arms-for-hostages" operation designed to free seven Americans held hostage by terrorists in Lebanon.
When Ronald Reagan was elected in 1980, he held a firm belief that détente should be abandoned and the problems of Communism be faced head on by his foreign policy. By the end of his second term as president, Reagan and his term in office would be remembered for furthering détente and influencing the peaceful collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the Soviet Union in 1991. Reagan's diplomatic strategy ultimately led to this end, but it was not inevitable. Tensions as they were throughout the Eighties could, at any time, prove too completely disrupt the groundwork for the fall of the Soviet Union.
"The U.S. presidential election of 1980 featured a contest between incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter and his Republican opponent Ronald Reagan, along with a third party candidate, the liberal Republican John Anderson."(USPE1980, 1) By the beginning of the election season, the lengthy Iran hostage crisis sharpened public perceptions of a crisis. In the 1970s, the United States was experiencing a wrenching episode of low economic growth, high inflation and interest rates, intermittent energy crises. This added to a sense of discomfort that in both domestic and foreign affairs the nation was headed downward. With candidates and their reasons why they should be president, who would win the 1980 presidential election?
Ronald Reagan used his power during the INF treaty in many ways. Some of the best examples of this was when he took an active role in involvement of the treaty outlines such as the “Zero Proposal”. One of the most important ways I found comparing the two Presidents though was through their Soviet-USA summits. President Reagan met with the Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev to hold talks on diplomatic relations and the arms race. Reagan believed that a personal relationship among leaders was the necessary first step to breaking down the barriers of tension that existed between the two countries. Reagan had one goal going into this Geneva Summit and that was to convince Gorbachev that America desired peace above everything else. He described
In 1987 Kuwait asked for Soviet and U.S. aid during the Iran-Iraq war in the Persian Gulf. The last two years of Reagan's presidency were marred by a political scandal, which badly damaged his reputation as an honest person and committed to principle. The scandal was that the U.S. had secretly sold weapons to Iran and had diverted the profits from the sale to help the contras. Reagan denied the allegations. There was also said to be a law saying that the U.S. couldn't aid the contras. This revealed to be true and Reagan lost his image.
Ronald Reagan was one of the most influential presidents in American history; yet he is one of the least talked about in present day history books. President Reagan was not an Ivy League rich-kid or raised in a politically motivated family. He was a midwestern boy who played football and worked his way through college. President Reagan had visions for the future of this country. Reagan realized he wanted to lead the country during his time working in California, in the Screen Actor's Guild. He was bothered by the spread of communism in Hollywood. He took over the Presidency in 1980 after four years of the most awful leadership this country has ever had. Just as he swore in his campaign, he lowered taxes, got control of oil prices and suppressed the paper tiger of the East. For the next eight years were some of the best times this country had ever seen. The 1980s is now a time of economic conditions leaders still try to attain today. The standard of living in the United States improved, along with the feeling of national pride. After four repugnant years under Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan took this country to the standard that it was capable of.
According to Reference.com (2007), law is defined as: "rules of conduct of any organized society, however simple or small, that are enforced by threat of punishment if they are violated. Modern law has a wide sweep and regulates many branches of conduct." Essentially law is the rules and regulations that aid in governing conduct, handling disputes, and dealing with criminal actions.
The Rule of Law means that the state should govern its citizens, in a way which works with the rules that have been agreed on. The Rule of Law is simply a fundamental principle of our constitution. Britain and other Western democracies are different in that Britain has an unwritten constitution, meaning that our constitution is not found in a certain document but that we actually have a constitution from the rules about who governs it, and about the powers they entail and how that power can be passed or even transferred. The Constitution includes; Acts of Parliament, Judicial decisions and Conventions.There are three main principles around the Rule of Law being the separation of powers, the supremacy of Parliament and the Rule of Law. The