Anticipatory (Pre-emptive) Self-defence: The Need for a Modern Approach

Beneath its cloak, the infamous War on Terror garners striking similarities to WWI.  The terror attack on Austria-Hungary ignited the War on Terror…nearly a century later.  It was not until 1914 that a terrorist attack was utilized to provoke military response.  The attack of September 11 is a modern replay of this attack.  George W. Bush leapt into the war against Baghdad in 2003 with the same attitude of Woodrow Wilson in the Great War.  One of Wilson’s reasons for going to war against Germany was based on his belief that his

The U.S sent troops to Afghanistan and President W. Bush declares a ‘ War on Terror .’ Bush says in his speech that he will give supplies to the starving men and women and children. Bush also says that he will bring the taliban to justice.

A month after the terrorist attack in the US, a war was launched by the United States. This war was known as the “fight back” war. It was the beginning of George Bush administration’s war on terrorism. The main theme of this war was to stop terrorism and catch Osama Bin Laden. He was the main person who planned this evil attack on September 11, 2001. Bin Laden’s trained groups that were

In the following months and years, then president George W. Bush and the military began planning the retaliation. It quickly became clear that the president’s goal was not simply to defeat bin Laden and al-Qaeda, but to eliminate other terrorist groups as well. On September 20th, 2001 during a speech Bush said the following “Our ‘war on terror’ begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.” (Bush, 2001)

President George W. Bush launched what he called the “war on terror” on October 7, 2001. The U.S. military was sent to Afghanistan to get rid of the Taliban regime who helped the terrorists involved in 9/11. (History.com Staff, “President Bush Announces”). Since the start of the “war on terror”, six thousand, nine hundred fifteen American troops have died

On September 11th 2001, the United States was hit with a devastating blow when four commercial airplanes were hijacked by Al-Qaeda terrorist who deliberately crashed two of the planes into the World Trade Center complex, and a third plane into the Pentagon. The fourth plane, headed for Washington D.C., instead crashed in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 lives were lost on this egregious day. In response, President George W. Bush waged the controversial “Global War on Terrorism” which turned out to be a self-inflicted wound for America, bleeding still today. Bush’s highly-criticized decision was inconsistent with the strategic principles of war.

After the September 11 attacks, George W. Bush called for a war against Afghanistan in an effort to destroy terrorist organizations. In his statement on Military Order from 2001, Bush explains that if the United States did not use military action against these groups, then terrorists would continue to attack America or other countries and take even more lives (Bush). For Bush, war was the only answer in order to protect his country. Similarly, Vice President Richard Cheney advocated war in the Middle East. He remarked that the American government would target states that assisted terrorists or supported them, as well as individual terrorists. He also claimed that the war was effective as of 2003, and that the military had destroyed certain

The Bush Doctrine was a foreign policy that declared Invasion through Iraq in 2003. The doctrine stated that the United States was "Taking anticipatory action to defend ourselves, even if uncertainty remains as to the time and place of the enemy's attack." Prior to the 9/11 attacks, the National Security was at a low, and the Bush Doctrine signaled a break from the lack of defense and represented a new format of how United States was going to take action towards the rest of the world. Bush had clearly stated that the United States was going to take actions to all and any nations that were knowingly harboring terrorists. George Bush had also said that the justification of the new policy was to prevent propagation of mass destruction anywhere around the world. The U.S.A did not want to allow their attackers strike first, and so they decided to go on the offense, and take battle to them. Not only did they take the war to Iraq, but it was extended when it was determined the Taliban government of Afghanistan was also harboring and providing safe haven for known

Prior to 9/11there had been various terrorist attacks on Americans around the world and on American soil. However the events of September 11 intensely changed the United States Government’s approach towards terrorism. After September 11, the Bush Administration changed the previous American approach, which had primarily employed the combined tools of diplomatic cooperation, economic sanctions, and internationally coordinated law enforcement measures (Lee 2007: 137). Instead, the President declared in the aftermath of September 11 that the United States was engaged in a war on terrorism. In this war all terrorists who plotted against the United States and those who supported them were subject to American justice. This new

The War on Terror was a title referring to an international campaign that had started after 9/11. The term “War on Terror” was first used by President George W. Bush on September 20th, 2001. He then called on other states to join the fight against terrorism then stating “Either you are with us, or you are terrorists” There were many governments who had joined his campaign. In October 2001, the U.S. and its numerous different allies that took over Afghanistan, where Al Qaeda was initially based. The Taliban, was protecting Bin Laden which then allowed Al Qaeda to run training camps in the country. Eventually, there were U.S based military who were then able to bring down the terrorist group. Ever since the September 11 attacks, a large amount of terrorists involved with Al-Qaeda were either captured or terminated. On May 1, 2011, U.S. troops killed Bin Laden where he was hiding in Pakistan. The U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003. Then President George W. Bush and other U.S. leaders believed that the country’s dictator, Saddam Hussein, was hiding terrible weapons that could be given to terrorists. Hussein was captured and later put to death by an Iraqi court. No weapons of mass destruction were found (History Channel: War on Terror).

This message of this quote from President Bush is clear, America is not immune from the evils of the world, therefore America will take action to protect both the ideals and people of the free world. To defend against the evils of terrorism, America would go to war with terrorism, which will ultimately lead to the war on terror. President Bush made this stance clear, he stated that “every nation in every region now has a decision to make: Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists”. Now moving away from President Bush’s speech on September 20, to focus on the more formal Bush Doctrine. The Bush Doctrine was a range of policies that gave the United States the right to protect itself against countries that harbour or give aid to terrorist

The policies that the United States has implement towards the War on Terror both conform and diverge from Machiavellian ideals in regards to foreign policy. Machiavelli states that to obtain and maintain power in a newly acquired state a ruler must “give offense…by imposing troops upon them”. The U.S. immediately acted towards this goal after the terrorist attacks in September 2001. The immediate action of the U.S. also correlate with the advice Machiavelli gives about the swiftness that must be taken to avoid war; “one should never allow a problem to develop in order to avoid war, for you end up not avoiding war, but deferring it to a time that will be less favorable”. By taking immediate action, the U.S. was able to take control of the situation at a time that allowed for the most support from the citizens of the U.S. along with other world powers. This was demonstrated by the surge of support that President Bush obtained immediately after the declaration of war.

There must be a just cause when resorting to war. This can imply either self-defence actions or be fought in order to provide humanitarian aid to the victims of aggression.

Ever since the beginning of the terrorist attacks on American soil, the War on Terror has been involved in the lives of Americans and nations near us. The War on Terror’s background originated through conflicts between warring countries in the Middle East; U.S. involvement started when a terrorist guided plane crashed into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 in New York City. The attack was suspected to be the work of the middle-eastern terrorist group Al-Qaeda. The U.S. military, under the leadership of then commander-in-chief George W. Bush, declared a “War on Terror” on the terrorist group and the fighting began.

The Global War on Terror is a military campaign led by the United States and the United Kingdom and supported by other NATO members. It was originally against al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations with the purpose of eliminating them. This paper discusses how the Bush Administration handled the War on Terror as well as different aspects of it, including its terminology, its objectives, its military operations and criticism against it.