The Preemptive War Doctrines Early Death

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-11-1999
The Preemptive War Doctrines Early Death
2
Thu, 09-09-2004 - 4:42pm
Shooting First: The Pre-emptive War Doctrine Has Met an Early Death in Iraq

by Ivo H. Daalder and James M. Lindsay May 30, 2004

WASHINGTON — Two years ago this week, in a speech at West Point, President Bush formally enunciated his doctrine of pre-emption. "The war on terror will not be won on the defensive," the president told a graduating class of cadets. "We must take the battle to the enemy, disrupt his plans and confront the worst threats before they emerge. In the world we have entered, the only path to safety is the path of action. And this nation will act."

Within 10 months, Bush made good on his promise, sending U.S. troops 7,000 miles from home to depose Saddam Hussein. Less than two months after the first bombs were dropped, Bush landed on the deck of the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln to declare "mission accomplished" before several thousand cheering sailors. Advocates of the new approach to foreign policy felt fully vindicated.

Today, the doctrine of preemption has fallen on hard times. Far from demonstrating the principle's effectiveness, the Iraq war and its aftermath have ultimately underscored its limits. When Bush addressed the faculty and students at the Army War College last week, he spoke of staying the course in Iraq. But the problems that have plagued the U.S. occupation over the last year make it highly unlikely that preemption is a tactic that he will employ elsewhere anytime soon.

http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=85070

dablacksox


Cynic: a blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be.---Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary.

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-04-2003
Thu, 09-09-2004 - 5:25pm
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Some might say that's one of the few positive things coming out of all of this. However there may come a point in time where preemption might be a necessity. Because of what has happened in Iraq (The lack of a viable exit strategy - or one for dealing with the aftermath of the war) may make it more difficult to get any kind of support for it in the future.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-11-1999
Thu, 09-09-2004 - 5:38pm
Very good points.

dablacksox


Cynic: a blackguard whose faulty vision sees things as they are, not as they ought to be.---Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary.