[Real Cynic No More]

"Incidentally, the neo-rebs might be interested to know who the first President was to terminate a treaty without the consent of Congress."

Unless I am mistaken, the treaty was never ratified. If so, the treaty was not in effect from a legal standpoint anyway, but was only a voluntary issue. So the president terminating it gives the Senate no standing.

Are these libs conceding that the President may make a treaty enforceable if they never ratified it???

Congress does so many things like this, leaving the ball up in the air, then tries to take credit: such as not declaring wars when they have an obligation to do so.

[mlo]

The ABM treaty was ratified, but it contains an escape clause which Bush used. Since the treaty is the law of the land the escape clause it contained was law too, and Bush needed no further authority, as long as he followed the procedure the treaty outlined.

[Lurking Libertarian]

Unless I am mistaken, the treaty was never ratified.

No, you're thinking of the International Criminal Court treaty, which was signed but never ratified. This is about the 1972 ABM Treaty, which was ratified by the Senate.