23 May 2010
By Paul J.
Balles
Paul J. Balles views the various doctrines that
have guided US foreign policy since World War II, from
the Truman to the Bush doctrine. He says that
President Obama will have to decide to keep or scrap
the Bush doctrine, which “Israel and its supporters in
America desperately want it misused against Iran”.
During the Vietnam War, preemptive thinking was
referred to as the domino theory. It held that if one
country fell under communist influence or control, its
neighbouring countries would soon fall like dominoes.
The theory originated after World War II out of
Winston Churchill's wish to "deter aggression" by
communist Russia. The Truman doctrine, the policy of
aiding nations defending themselves against communist
forces, followed.
The Truman doctrine, to contain communism, fed the
wars in Korea, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, as well as
Afghanistan. It also sired the police actions in
places like Somalia and Central and South America
during the Cold War years.
During each of these military escapades, there were
those who objected. Often they were told to shut up.
Some were dubbed unpatriotic and even traitorous for
questioning American war policies. Derogatory
name-calling of those who object to militarism has
been a regular practice.
Wars and
preemptive strikes against countries that might be a
future danger have always empowered flag wavers with a
sense of righteousness. The Korean conflict saw the
rise of Senator Joseph McCarthy and his attacks on the
character of political opponents.
McCarthy
constantly made claims that there were large numbers
of communists and Soviet spies and sympathizers inside
the United States federal government and elsewhere.
The senator and his staff subjected Hollywood actors
as well as academics to severe attacks. McCarthy
called them communists because they opposed the Korean
War.
To call someone a communist in those days was as bad
as calling citizens terrorists or terrorist supporters
today. McCarthy was eventually castigated and ousted
for his rampage. Ironically, McCarthy himself did the
terrorizing by instilling fear in people of being
called anti-American.
Apart from America's defeat in Vietnam, its
containment theory in practice during the Cold War led
to the downfall of the Soviet Union. That collapse
vindicated Churchill and ushered in a disastrous
policy of preemption.
Preemption has in fact been part of American foreign
policy for ages. As president, George W. Bush put a
new twist of "preventive" war on it. That meant
taking action well before an attack was imminent –
invading a country that was simply believed to be
threatening.
Originally, the phrase "Bush doctrine" described a
policy that assumed the right to secure the country
against terrorists or those who harbour terrorists.
One writer has said there were at least six Bush
doctrines.
It justified the latest invasion of Afghanistan. Out
of that arose the idea that the United States should
depose foreign regimes that represented a perceived
threat to the security of the United States, even if
that threat was not immediate.
At times, Bush used his doctrine to justify America
acting alone and contravening treaty obligations. At
other times, it excused attacks against countries
harbouring terrorists.
The Bush doctrine allowed for pre-mptive attacks
against countries or groups that might be a threat to
the US or its allies. It supported attacks against
those believed to have weapons of mass destruction or
that might someday develop them.
It even allowed for American support of "democratic"
countries as a strategy to combat terrorism, meaning
that the Bush administration would make decisions
about "regime change".
In short, when the threat of weapons of mass
destruction wasn't the rationale for invading Iraq,
the need to change the regime from Saddam Hussein to a
democracy called for a preemptive strike.
Barack Obama, the preemptive Nobel Prize Winner as
New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd referred to
him, will eventually have to decide on whether to keep
or scrap the Bush doctrine. Israel and its supporters
in America desperately want it misused against Iran.
Paul J.
Balles is a retired American university professor and
freelance writer who has lived in the Middle East for
many years. For more information, see
http://www.pballes.com.
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