Suggested Answers to the Second Short Quiz

[johnkarls]

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It is respectfully suggested that you make a list of your own questions that are provoked by “The Protective State" – since all of us are unique and your questions are worth discussing also!!!



Question 1

Was there anything in Prof. Dershowitz’ list of a “Preventive State In Action” that related to his claimed thesis of his book as THE NECESSITY OF PREVENTING IRAN FROM OBTAINING A NUCLEAR WEAPON --

• Chapter 2 – Preventing Presidential Assassinations
• Chapter 3 – Bail, Sentencing and Preventative Detention
• Chapter 4 – From Searches and “Stop and Frisk” to Shooting/Choking Suspects
• Chapter 5 – Military Action
• Chapter 6 – Preventing Terrorism including Waterboarding
• Chapter 7 – Preventing Medical Intrusion
• Chapter 8 – Preventing a Global Environmental Catastrophe
• Chapter 9 – Preventing Dangerous and/or Offensive Speech
• Chapter 10 – Red Flag Laws and Gun Violence
• Chapter 11 – The Surveillance State
• Chapter 12 – The Private State

Answer 1

Only Chapter 5.

Question 2

Is Prof,. Dershowitz playing “needle in the haystack” with us by burying his claimed thesis in Chapter 5 – Military Action?

Answer 2

What do you think??? Let’s discuss!!!

Question 3

Does he play it adroitly by making it 4th of 11 so we don’t lose interest or focus??? While buryng it among 10 other examples of Preventive Action that most Americans would shrug off as routine/justifiable???

Answer 3

What do you think??? Let’s discuss!!!

Question 4

Are his Chapter 5 examples of Preventive Action from such classics as Gibbon’s “The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” well chosen???

Answer 4

What do you think??? Let’s discuss!!!

Question 5

Does Prof. Dershowitz say (p, 83) that he wrote back in 2015 –

“No democracy can afford to wait until such a threat against its civilian population is imminent. Both Israel and the United States should have the right under international law to protect their civilians and soldiers from a threatened nuclear holocaust, and that might include – if that is the only realistic option – preemptive military action of the sort taken by Israel against the Iraqi nuclear at Osirak in 1981, especially if such action can again be taken without an unreasonable number of civilian casualties.”

Answer 5

Yes.

Question 6

Is Prof. Dershowitz being far too easy on Barack Obama by burying in Footnote 6 that this quotation comes from his Cri de Coeur entitled “The Case Against the Iran Deal: How Can We Now Stop Iran from Getting Nukes” (Kindle version published by Rosetta Books 7/29/2015) in reaction to Obama’s Iran Nuclear Deal (aka JCPOA) agreed 7/14/2015???

Answer 6

Re burying it in Footnote 6 – yes.

Re far too easy on Barack Obama - What do you think??? Let’s discuss!!!

Question 7

After all, doesn’t the summary of his book in Newsweek Magazine 8/8/2015 assume that Obama would, AS REQUIRED BY THE U.S. CONSTITUTION, submit his JCPOA to the U.S. Senate for the required 2/3 ratification???

Answer 7

Yes.

Question 8

And shamefully, did Obama NOT even bother to consult the Senate, much less obtain its approval???

Answer 8

Yes.

Question 9

Did President Trump during his first term withdraw the U.S. from the JCPOA on 5/8/2018 and impose crippling sanctions on Iran (most notably on its ability to sell its crude oil)???

Answer 9

Yes.

Question 10

Even if the JCPOA had been ratified by the U.S. Senate, wasn’t this perfectly legal because, UNLIKE A CONTRACT, a treaty is only valid as long as the parties agree to continue with it – and not a day longer???

Answer 10

Yes.

Question 11

On Pres. Biden’s inauguration day 1/20/2012, did we send our letter imploring him NOT to re-enter the JCPOA unless “at a minimum” it corrected Obama’s failures by providing for –

• Anytime, anywhere inspections,

• A ban on development of short-range and inter-continental ballistic missiles, and

• A ban on Iran’s ever acquiring nuclear weapons.

Answer 11

Yes.

It is available for download at viewtopic.php?f=23&t=2021&sid=e442ec69a ... 819fc82202.

Question 12

Did Biden nonetheless unsuccessfully beg Iran to be permitted to re-join the JCPOA – even groveling to the extent that he agreed to have Russian President Putin act as our negotiator (since Iran refused to meet with any Americans)???

Answer 12

Yes, Biden groveled unsuccessfully through Putin.


**********
But back to Chapter 5 of “The Preventive State” –

Question 13

Does Prof. Dershowitz then analyze the problems of predicting accurately (“false positives” and “false negatives” in his terminology)???

Answer 13

Yes.

Question 14

Why does he bother in light of all of the actions of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei catalogued in the First Short Quiz???

Answer 14

What do you think??? Let’s discuss!!!

Question 15

Does Prof. Dershowitz make a valid point regarding Israel’s morality in not destroying Tehran (or Baghdad in 1981) if Iran (or Iraq) destroyed Tel Aviv???

Answer 15

What do you think??? Let’s discuss!!!

After all, Tel Aviv was never destroyed so who knows what the Israeli reaction would have been?

Question 16

Does Prof. Dershowitz then provide an interesting analysis (pp. 86-90) of the Hamas statistics that count all children under 18 and all women of any age as “civilians” even though many of them are terrorists??? Does he make a valid point that every woman and child (as well as supposedly-civilian men) need to be individually evaluated on each’s degree of culpability???

Answer 16

Yes and Yes.

Question 17

Based on his concept of percentage of “civilianity” – vs. the meaningless term “civilian” as it is employed by Hamas – isn’t the picture much different than the one presented by Hamas and the American media???

Answer 17

What do you think??? Let’s discuss!!!


**********
And on to Part III (Chapters 13-16 + Conclusion and Appendix)

Question 18

Is Prof. Dershowitz once again ignoring his CLAIMED THESIS of “The Preventive State” --

“The thesis of the book is that you cannot wait for Iran to develop nuclear weapons and try to deter it. You don’t deter people who want to die…..Israel cannot depend on deterrence. It cannot deter or kind of control a nuclear enemy. It has to prevent the enemy from getting nuclear bombs.”

[Please see Q&A-5 of the First Short Quiz.]

Answer 18

What do you think??? Let’s discuss!!!

Question 19

After all, don’t we have the beaucoup actions and threats of both Iran and Supreme Iranian Leader Ali Khamenei against both Israel and THE GREAT SATAN (i.e., the United States)???

Answer 19

Absolutely!!!

Question 20

So what’s the point of all the analysis about statistics and predictions and outcomes???

Answer 20

Who knows???

Question 21

Is it really helpful vis-à-vis Iran to think about interpreting the U.S. Constitution as “strict” or “living”???

Answer 21

What do you think??? Let’s discuss!!!

Question 22

Or think about the oft-cited criminal-law principle (p. 175) ”that it is better that ten guilty be wrongfully acquitted than even one innocent be wrongfully convicted”???

Answer 22

What do you think??? Let’s discuss!!!

Question 23

Is Prof. Dershowitz serious about “Constructing a Jurisprudential Framework” (the title of Part III) when he admits in the first sentence of his Appendix (p.189) –

“Every society that aspires to govern within the rule of law finds it necessary to create (or discover) exceptions to the formal rules for what its leaders deem to be emergencies, extraordinary situations, or the “needs of the time.”

Answer 23

What do you think??? Let’s discuss!!!

Question 24

After all, don’t Iran’s inter-CONTINENTAL ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons and threats of DEATH TO THE GREAT SATAN comprise all three???

Answer 24

What do you think??? Let’s discuss!!!