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OLC Memo: Authority for Use of Military Force to Combat Terrorist Activities Within the United States

Oct. 23, 2001 | OLC | ACLU-RDI 4540

This memo considers the use of military force to prevent or deter terrorist activity domestically and concludes that, “the President has both constitutional and statutory authority to use the armed forces in military operations, against terrorists, within the United States. We believe that these operations generally would not be subject to the constraints of the Fourth Amendment . . . .” The memo is criticized and partly repudiated in Steven Bradbury’s 10/6/08 memo.

AUTHORING AGENCIES:
RECEIVING AGENCIES: