Cowboy Republic: Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law [Paperback]

Marjorie Cohn (Author), Richard Falk (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 28, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0977825337 | ISBN-13: 978-0977825332

Marjorie Cohn offers a penetrating analysis of the six most important ways in which the Bush administration weakened the rule of law. Cohn, a respected legal scholar, details the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq, the policy of torture, war crimes, Guantanamo's kangaroo courts, unconstitutional laws, and the unlawful surveillance of American citizens. She concludes with practical ways to strengthen the rule of law domestically and internationally, including both political and legal remedies.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Marjorie Cohn's Cowboy Republic is a passionate and compelling indictment of the Bush administration's often blatant disregard of both constitutional and international law. It s also an important cautionary tale about the perils that can befall a democracy when the arrogance of power outstrips the reasoned constraints of the law. --Geoffrey Stone, University of Chicago Law School

Marjorie Cohn has always been good at explaining how powerful elected officials violate our democratic rights. Cowboy Republic is her best effort yet. From an illegal aggressive war in Iraq to torture, here it all is--the six major ways the Bush administration has made America an outlaw state. --Michael Ratner, Center for Constitutional Rights

This devastating, utterly compelling account of the crimes and usurpations of the Bush administration will convince all but the perpetrators themselves of the urgent need not only for investigations and prompt impeachments, but also for criminal prosecutions. --Daniel Ellsberg, author of Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers

About the Author

Marjorie Cohn is a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, past president of the National Lawyers Guild, and deputy secretary general of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers. Her books include The United States and Torture: Interrogation, Incarceration, and Abuse; Rules of Disengagement: The Politics and Honor of Military Dissent; and Cameras in the Courtroom: Television and the Pursuit of Justice.

Product Details

• Paperback: 191 pages
• Publisher: Polipoint Press (June 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0977825337
• ISBN-13: 978-0977825332
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #514,595 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bush Administration Legal Record Eviscerated, July 5, 2007

By 

D. Sevilla "Explorer" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cowboy Republic: Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law (Paperback)

What a well-reasoned legal analysis of Bush administration actions and policies. This administration is tried and found guilty. If you're looking for talking points to refute right-wing friends or talking heads, this book argues them for you in clear convincing language.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Restoring the Rule of Law, August 19, 2007

By 

Eric A. Isaacson (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cowboy Republic: Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law (Paperback)

Professor Marjorie Cohn provides a much needed review of the Bush administration's legal record - from launching a "preemptive" war on the basis of palpable falsehoods, to advocating and even practicing torture at Guantanamo and by proxy through "extraordinary renditions," to warrantless wiretaps and spying on Americans, to overreaching claims of executive power that ignore validly passed laws and upset the framers' careful balance of constitutional powers.

Professor Cohn's book shows how an administration that claims a high regard for democracy and the rule of law has in truth demonstrated a deep-seated contempt for both -- explaining why the rest of the world is so fast losing faith in America and her ideals.

Professor Cohn's book should help Americans to come to terms with the harm that the Bush administration has done so far. And that, I believe, is a critical step to restoring our national decency and honor.

Eric Alan Isaacson

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cowboy Republic: Reader! Inform yourself with the very best.., July 12, 2007

By 

Daniel N. Fox (Pomona, California, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Cowboy Republic: Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law (Paperback)

Daniel Ellsberg likes this book and so do I. Geoffrey Stone, foremost constitutional scholar, likes this book, and so do I.

It is a scholarly and complete exposition of a vital subject, the ruination of our country both inside and outside. Ms. Cohn skillfully describes the Bush-led hollowing-out of our former constitutional liberties coupled with a catastrophic war. Marjorie Cohn, President of the National Lawyers Guild, an organization of lawyers who value human rights over property rights, uses the analytical abilities of a skilled lawyer and law professor to point the way out of the mess.

Ms. Cohn's writing makes you want to read on and on, and lay all other things aside until the book is read. How many books of any kind do that to you?