[Nasional-e] The Bush Doctrine

[Ambon]

EDITORIAL: The Bush Doctrine

The only superpower wants to make all the rules.
The U.S. government has announced ``The National Security Strategy of the
United States,'' nicknamed the Bush Doctrine, a comprehensive security
policy that embraces pre-emptive action and other means of ensuring
effective self-defense.
It is increasingly clear that following last year's terrorist attacks in New
York and Washington, rogue states, terrorists organizations and others
involved in the development of weapons of mass destruction have replaced the
socialist nations of the Cold War era as the United States' newly declared
enemies.
This has prompted George W. Bush's administration to state that while the
United States will seek allies in the battle against terrorism, it will also
not hesitate to act alone, when deemed necessary, to exercise its right to
self-defense by acting pre-emptively. With this, Bush has underscored his
willingness to resort to unilateral action or first strikes against Iraq or
other members of the ``axis of evil.''
The document also states the intent to maintain military strength capable of
dissuading potential enemies with ambitions of building up arms on a par
with the United States to abandon such aspirations. This is a signal of the
Bush administration's determination for the United States to sustain
overwhelmingly superior military might.
The United States has emerged as the sole military superpower in the
post-Cold War age, and there is no doubt the strength of the U.S. armed
forces is integrally linked to global security. The sudden recent shift in
the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (North Korea) stance also
reflects the impact of U.S. pressure.
Yet this new strategy also reveals the desire of the Bush administration to
make up the rules for what lies ahead. If allowed to develop in this
context, this will be an inevitable source of concern and suspicion.
The United Nations Charter states the Security Council will act to counter
the destruction of peace. Upon instances of armed attacks, however, the
charter also recognizes the exercising of either individual or group
self-defense rights until the Security Council adopts the necessary
measures.
This differs from approval for pre-emptive action based on forecasts or
fears of being attacked, despite no actual strikes having taken place.
Authorizing military action under those circumstances would set a precedent
for armed conflicts in all corners of the world.
The stipulations of the U.N. Charter are derived from the bitter lessons of
the history of war-specifically, that aggression is often initiated on the
pretense of self-defense.
The Bush administration may well be convinced that the United States, a
country without territorial designs that has upheld the tenets of democracy,
freedom and justice over the years, would never wage a mistaken war. The
overconfidence of such a view, however, is clear by turning back the pages
of time no further than the Vietnam War.
Israel, Russia and China were quick to support the logic of Bush's ``war on
terrorism.'' There are aspects of the battles against terrorism being waged
by each of these countries that amount to the suppression of the rights of
groups considered to be religious heretics, ethnic minorities or other
``undesirables.'' The doctrine of pre-emptive action harbors the same basic
danger.
At the same time, this new security strategy also claims to be devoted to
promoting global economic growth, a task to be accomplished through free
markets, free trade and other policies. The idea is to create open
societies, establish the groundwork for democracy and work from there to
expand the sphere of development. This stems from the awareness that poverty
and corruption make smaller and weak states easy prey for organized
terrorism. Based on this, the Bush Doctrine speaks of bolstering economic
aid to developing nations.
The rough draft of the documents is said to have been heavily re-edited by
Bush, based on his concerns that some sections made the United States sound
arrogant and overbearing. Although we still find it inadequate, if poverty
countermeasures and other components are carried out, the reactions around
the world can also be expected to change.
Without international cooperation and a stance of humility toward the weaker
members of the global community, the Bush Doctrine will be little more than
a self-serving show of brute strength by a misguided superpower.
--The Asahi Shimbun, Sept. 22(IHT/Asahi: September 23,2002)