An article from the symposium issue of the Indiana Law Journal on "War, Terrorism and Torture: Limits on Presidential Power in the 21st Century." The symposium was convened by the American Constitution Society for Law and Policy and the Indiana University School of Law–Bloomington on October 7, 2005.

“Deborah Pearlstein continues the search for lessons learned from the torture scandal, and especially for sources of appropriate and effective constraints on executive abuse. Pearlstein addresses the torture issue directly, expertly, and at length, drawing on her work as Director of the U.S. Law and Security Program at Human Rights First, a nongovernmental organization prominent in human rights enforcement. She offers a detailed account of how and why the system—including the checks and balances of constitutional democracy—failed to protect against the use of torture and other violations of human rights. The primary causes: vague or unlawful executive branch guidance, inaction by civilian executive authority in the face of unlawful activity, and inadequate resources, training and planning for detention and interrogation operations. Notwithstanding the enactment of the McCain Amendment, Pearlstein finds most promise for future constraints on executive abuse in less classically democratic sources: the professional military and intelligence community, the media, nongovernmental organizations, and the courts.” From Foreword by Prof. Dawn Johnsen