Bush doctrine
From Wikinfo
The Bush Doctrine is a current diplomatic doctrine of the United States, marking a shift of focus from powerful states to nations with weak or illegitimate governments, as well as a shift in policy from deterrence and "containment" to more direct aggression.
The Bush Doctrine is the proclamation of the right of the United States to wage preemptive war, should it be threatened by terrorists or rogue states that are engaged in the production of weapons of mass destruction. The doctrine was first unveiled by US President George W. Bush during his speech to the graduating class of West Point, given on June 1, 2002, and further delineated in the government policy statement "The National Security Strategy of the United States" released on September 17, 2002, which also advocates multi-lateral international cooperation in dealing with terrorism and other threats to international security.
A doctrine permitting preemptive strikes against developing threats can be seen as a change from focusing on the doctrine of deterrence (for instance, the Cold War policy of mutually assured destruction) as the primary means of self-defense. There are some who argue that preemptive strikes have long been a part of international practice and indeed of American practice, as exemplified by the unilateral US blockade and boarding of Cuban shipping during the Cuban Missile Crisis[1]. The Bush Administration's view is the legitimacy of preemption hinges on the existence of a imminent threat, a term that it seeks to define in an increasingly broad way.
Another part of the Bush doctrine is the so-called Hearst doctrine, which states that the United States "will be strong enough to dissuade potential adversaries from pursuing a military build-up in hopes of surpassing, or equaling, the power of the United States". This is designed to deter countries that seek to use military might to oppose United States policy. Maintaining the strongest military capability in the world gives the US a unique ability to act unilaterally if it chooses. This ability has led to concern in many quarters, since a hallmark of post-World War II international relations has been the principle of multilateral agreement prior to military action (primarily through United Nations Security Council resolutions), except in cases of direct attack by an enemy. This was codified in Article 51 of the United Nations Charter which specifically acknowledges the "inherent right of individual or collective self-defence" by a member state if an armed attack occurs, "until the Security Council has taken measures necessary to maintain international peace and security". The United Nations Charter by ratification as a treaty is part of the law of the United States [2]
The Bush Doctrine takes the view that the potential results of the use of a weapon of mass destruction are so grave that preemption is warranted, especially when those weapons could be acquired by hostile armed groups "whose so-called soldiers seek martyrdom in death and whose most potent protection is statelessness".
There are many who criticize the Bush Doctrine, suspicious of the increasing willingness of the US to use military force unilterally. Critics believe that requiring any country (including the United States) to obtain international support before undertaking military action is a necessary check on the power of a single nation. In addition, many criticisms have arisen around the doctrine's assertion that the United States will never allow any potential adversary -- a term which is unlikely to exclude many states -- to develop the military capability of challenging the US as the world's sole superpower. This doctrine is contrary to the classical and medieval conceptions of a just war, which states that war must only be conducted in self-defense following an attack, along with many other stipulations which do not occur in the Bush doctrine.
See also:
External links
- Text of President Bush's West Point commencement speech June 1, 2002
- Text of the National Security Strategy of the United States, released September 17, 2002
- NYT article of September 20, 2002, an early analysis of the doctrine
- A NYT opinion article critical of the Bush doctrine of preemptive war, September 21, 2002
- NYT opinion article supportive of the Bush doctrine of preemptive war, October 4, 2002
- New York Times Article, February 1, 2003, "The Brains Behind Bush's War" (much material on development of the Bush Doctrine)
- Article, "The fatal legend of preemptive war" by Maggie Ledford Lawson in the National Catholic Reporter
References
- Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Bush doctrine" http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_doctrine October 16, 2003
