GW: Do you believe that an all-powerful Executive Branch helps keep us safe from terrorists, or that separation of powers, including checks and balances from Congress and the courts can coexist with an effective counter-terrorism program?
Terry Arnold: An all-powerful executive is an insufficient policy. Government can't operate without all of those branches of government
GW: During the Bush administration, people said "we live in a "post-9/11 world", and therefore the Constitution was a quaint and outdated document. Do you believe that?
GW: I believe that we have rapidly been sliding towards martial law in the U.S. Do you agree?
Terry Arnold: There was some overreaction of the political left of the narrow-minded approaches of the Bush administration. The Bush administration was pushing a narrow, militaristic view. The Bush administration made moves that are discomfiting to a lot of people on the left and the right.
But it is hard to know what they would have done if [people who thought like that] remained in office for 4 or 8 more years.
GW: Do you think things are improving under the current administration?
Terry Arnold: I'm waiting to see. Its too early to tell.
The remainder of the interview, on continuity of government plans, challenged my beliefs on the subject. Arnold is apparently an expert in this area. I sincerely hope that he is right and that my worries were unfounded.
GW: Many people believe that the suspension of a Constitutional form of government which began by the declaration of a national emergency on 9/11, and the institution of a government subject to active "continuity of government plans" has continued up through the end of the Bush administration and to the present time.
Pursuant to continuity of government procedures, Secretary of Defense Gates was sent out of town during Obama's inauguration. In addition, Obama's aids said that in his first 100 hours, Obama would sign "bureaucratic proclamations about continuity of government".
Do you have any insight or knowledge as to whether or not a continuity of government form of government is still in effect?
Terry Arnold: I taught on Continuity of Government for a while. [Arnold described how he taught classes on COG to government employees at the State Department and through the National War College. While he said he did not have any direct role in drafting COG plans, he implied that he was an expert in this area.]
The rules for continuity of government are clear and well-practiced. Continuity of government is about having a government, even when you lose the one you've already got.
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