The Bush Doctrine

Paper Summary:

The paper explains the principles of the Bush Doctrine and the policy of preemption that was essentially the response of the Bush administration to the attacks of 9/11. The paper looks at the arguments of supporters of the Bush doctrine but then explores the position of opponents as well. The paper discusses the rise of anti-Americanism, the contentions that Bush disregards the will and needs of the states he has invaded, the fact that democratization is not working and the lack of evidence about weapons of mass destruction at the start of the second Iraq war.

From the Paper:

"The terrorist attacks of 9/11 were a defining moment in both American foreign policy and the lives of millions of people. The lives that were claimed by the attacks have left thousands and thousands of family members and an entire nation grieving. The attacks that were immediately condemned throughout the world were regarded as the beginning of the war on terrorism in the United States where President George W. Bush announced America was ready to fight back. The "Bush doctrine" as American foreign policy has been called, is essentially the response of the Bush administration to the attacks of 9/11. Initially, it was used to describe the invasion of Afghanistan, but was later broadened as to encompass the famous "policy of preemption" which was claimed to operate on various levels."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Bacevich, Andrew J. 2007, 'Rescinding the Bush Doctrine', The Boston Globe, 1 March, (electronic edition) <http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2007/03/01/rescinding_the_bush_doctrine/>
• Donnelly, Thomas. 2003, 'The Underpinnings of the Bush Doctrine', National Security Outlook AEI Online (Washington), American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. <http://www.aei.org/publications/pubID.15845/pub_detail.asp>
• Gardner, Richard N. 2003, 'Neither Bush nor the "Jurisprudes"', The American Journal of International Law, vol. 97, vol. 3, pp. 585-590.
• Kagan, Robert. 2007, 'End of Dreams, Return of History', Policy Review, no. 144, pp. 17-26.
• Kuniholm Bruce R. 2002, '9/11, the Great Game, and the Vision Thing: The Need for (And Elements of) a More Comprehensive Bush Doctrine' The Journal of American History, vol. 89, no. 2, pp. 426-438.

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• Essay # 65357 : "The Bush Doctrine and Soft Power"

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