Iraq and Preemptive Self-Defense

The Bush Administration took advantage of the fear and uncertainty resulting from the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 to put forth a national security policy of preemptive self-defense as if it were a direct response to 9/11. Instead it is but one element of a longer-standing post Cold War political vision of unrivaled US power developed by neo-conservative members of the Administration and first floated during the administration of George H.W. Bush, then released in September 2002 as the "National Security Strategy of the United States of America."

The invasion of Iraq was seen both as finishing the work many felt undone in the First Gulf War, but also as a means to, in their view, pave the way for a "reverse domino theory" of radical polical change in the "Greater Middle East."

To read the entire article, which appeared in the book, "The Iraq War and its Consequences: Thoughts of Nobel Peace Laureates and Eminent Scholars," click on the pdf icon to the right of the title above.