Note that the preventive and preemptive policy made suspicion, prediction and presumption basis for counter-measures, rather than the requirement of international and national law of needing to have objective after-the-fact evidence (crossing the line between Minority Report and LAPD: Life on the Beat).
In effect, the principle of evidence of action taken to legitimize use force and restriction of rights, was replaced by suspicion of intent.
Subsequently, interrogation would be used to find projective evidence about future planned events, as we could not afford reasonable certainty of “The Mushroom Cloud”.
Last, the presidency has amassed a vast Executive paramilitary force operating outside Congressional and public oversight and awareness. Private firms and intelligence agencies provide personnel that can carry out acts falling within and between law enforcement and military operations, only subjected to will of, and accountable to, the President.
This provides the Executive branch of the last component needed to become able to both define what acts to prevent, methods to prevent them and execute actions at home and abroad without need for involvement of any other branch.
The fallout is dangerous and affects many areas, of which only a few are mentioned here.
When intent is incriminating, suspicion basis for surveillance and restrictive actions, and prevention a policy for counter-measures it follows that the rate of actions to gather intelligence, detain and restrict the freedom of movement of individuals as well as counter suspected planned actions increases massively. This has been the case, both domestically and internationally.
The legal framework requiring of federal agencies adherence to certain processes and standards on presentation and quality of sufficient evidence before actions are taken, is not just something intended to be a pain in the butt of the Executive Branch – even though it might seem that way, judging from the way the current administration has treated these regulations.
More importantly, these regulations and requirements are based upon a presumption that humans are fallible. When the government spend the resources of the governed, there need to be some checks to ensure that the resources are not spent on the wrong things and that efforts are undertaken with competence and adequate consideration, limiting errors due to bad intent or basic flaws of thinking of individuals and groups.
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