Historian Mary L. Dudziak wrote: “Congress, stunned by the September 11 attacks, responded by quickly passing the Patriot Act and an Authorization for the Use of Military Force. While these actions were intended to give the president the authority he sought to act effectively at home and abroad, there was just one difficulty. The Bush administration did not want to concede that Congress’s support was needed. If that was the case, then Congress would be able to withdraw its grants of power. [Deputy Chief of the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) John] Yoo began crafting OLC opinions based on the idea that the president could act alone. On September 20, 2001, he wrote that congressional resolutions had recognized the presidential response to terrorism, but they could not ‘place any limits on the president’s determinations as to any terrorist threat, the amount of military force to be used in response, or the method, timing and nature of the response.’ ”
– Julian E. Zelizer, ed., The Presidency of George W. Bush, Pages 42-43