Paper Summary:

This paper states that both the Cold War and the present-day War on Terror doctrines are excellent examples of a "good-versus-evil" paradigm that paints U.S. international affairs in unsophisticated shades of black and white. The author points out that the Bush doctrine is wholly committed to pre-empting terror and not merely interested in containing it as in the Truman Cold War doctrine. The paper concludes that both approaches call for a vigilant and aggressive America that seeks to advance its own security wherever it is deemed necessary.

From the Paper:

"In many respects, it may be said that the Truman Doctrine began the "policy of containment" whereby the United States would aggressively confront any expansion of communism outside of the USSR and Eastern Europe. By comparison, the Bush Doctrine - while it would certainly seem amenable to offering military and financial support to foreign countries that are genuinely eager to engage the terrorist threat - is much more about pre-emption than about containment."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bush, George W. "President Bush Reaffirms Resolve to War on Terror, Iraq, and Afghanistan." The White House: President George W. Bush. 19 Mar. 2004. The White House. 19 Nov. 2006 <http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/03/20040319-3.html>
• Roughneen, Simon. "Blowback." ZNet: Foreign Policy. 18 Jul. 2002. Zmag.org. 19 Nov. 2006 <http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=2093>
• Schmuhl, "Going Our Way: A New Foreign Policy." Notre Dame Magazine. Autumn 2003. University of Notre Dame. 19 Nov. 2006 <http://www.nd.edu/~ndmag/au2003/schmuhl.html>
• Truman, Harry S. "Address before a Joint Session of Congress." Modern History Sourcebook: The Truman Doctrine, 1947. Aug. 1997. Paul Halsall. 19 Nov. 2006 <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/1947TRUMAN.html>

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