Abuse of Power by Presidents from John Kennedy to George Bush essays

Abuse of Power by Presidents from John Kennedy to George Bush essays Kennedy's number one incident of an abuse of power was probably the "Bay of Pigs" secret invasion into Cuba in April, 1961. The attempt to overthrow Cuban dictator Fidel Castro was a huge failure, and it was an embarrassment to both Kennedy and to the United States in the eyes of the world. Kennedy did not consult the U.S. Congress prior to launching the provocative attack, and hence, many felt it was an abuse of his power. Lyndon Johnson's biggest incidence of an abuse of power was most likely the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution in 1964. The American military had for several years been providing "training" and "advisors" to the South Vietnam regime, and Lyndon Johnson, like several presidents before him, believed that if the communists in North Vietnam, led by Ho Chi Minh, were allowed to take over all of Vietnam, then other Southeast Asian nations would fall, too, like a stack of dominos. So, in August, of 1964, Johnson claimed that the U.S. Navy had been attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats, and he told Congress he needed authority to respond to that attack. The U.S. Senate approved (except for 2 Senators) the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which gave Johnson the authority to bomb North Vietnam. Subsequent insider information has shown there was no attack by the North Vietnamese on U.S. Navy ships. It was a lie, and an abuse of power. Richard Nixon was guilty of many abuses of power during the Watergate scandal, such as authorizing lies by his inner staff, authorizing breaking into Daniel Ellsburg's office, and many more. Ronald Reagan (unwittingly) allowed a secret cell of government to be established in his administration, by Oliver North and John Poindexter; they sold U.S. weapons to the Ayatollah in Iran, and secretly gave the money to the Contras in Nicaragua. George Bush (senior) as VP under Reagan gave millions of dollars in chemical weapons technology to Sadd...