George Bush's position on:

National Security Strategy: On September 20, 2002 President George W. Bush released, The National Security Strategy of the United States of America (NSS) which details the way the United States foreign policy will operate in a changing security environment and, in particular, the way the United States will respond to the threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD).

Description of candidate's position: George W. Bush proposed the National Security Strategy of the United States of America as a way to deal with the threats posed by WMD in a changing world. The NSS recognizes some of the inherent limitations posed by multi-lateralism and adjusts U.S. military and diplomatic strategy to reflect this. President Bush said during a recent rally in Oregon, "this is a different kind of war. This is the kind of war where these people will hide in dark corners of the world, or find a cave and plot and plan….in order to secure our country….we must say to those who provide them safe harbor, you're equally as guilty as the terrorists who have conducted the raids." (8/13/04) Bush likens Kerry's position on counter-proliferation to "appeasement" that will encourage further development of WMD and continued acts of terror.

Quotation: "For much of the last century, America's defense relied on the Cold War doctrines of deterrence and containment. In some cases, those strategies still apply. But new threats also require new thinking. Deterrence -- the promise of massive retaliation against nations -- means nothing against shadowy terrorist networks with no nation or citizens to defend. Containment is not possible when unbalanced dictators with weapons of mass destruction can deliver those weapons on missiles or secretly provide them to terrorist allies." He continues…"Our security will require the best intelligence, to reveal threats hidden in caves and growing in laboratories. Our security will require modernizing domestic agencies such as the FBI, so they're prepared to act, and act quickly, against danger. Our security will require transforming the military you will lead -- a military that must be ready to strike at a moment's notice in any dark corner of the world. And our security will require all Americans to be forward-looking and resolute, to be ready for preemptive action when necessary to defend our liberty and to defend our lives." (Speech at West Point 2002)

Assessment of the Proposal:

Positive: Ralph Cossa, President of the Center for Security and International Studies-Pacific Forum, and an expert on SE Asian security issues, argues that the press coverage of the President's National Security Strategy is single-minded in it's focus. He says, "…the NSS report is not just (or even primarily) about preemption. Building on themes outlined in President Bush's June 1 West Point commencement the NSS report stressed the importance of growing major power cooperation, devoting an entire section (VIII) to cooperative action with the other major centers of global power: Russia, China, and India, plus NATO and U.S. allies in Asia" (October 2002).

Negative: Daryl Kimball & Christine Kucia, Executive Director & Research Associate at the Arms Control Association believe that, "The Bush administrations more aggressive nuclear force posture sets a dangerous precedent that some states may try to emulate and others may try to counter." (April 2003). They continue by saying, "…such policies undermine nonproliferation efforts by suggesting to other states that nuclear weapons are legitimate and necessary tools that can achieve military or political objectives."

Comparison: President Bush finds multilateralism to have fundamental flaws when used to confront the dual problems of WMD and Terrorism. He believes the failure of U.N. resolutions to disarm Saddam Hussein provides support for preemptive war as a method of counter-proliferation. President Bush believes that stating a doctrine of preemptive war is important to counter claims that the U.S. is soft on WMD proliferation and to strengthen the U.S. deterrent. This differs from the Kerry-Edwards position that preemptive war can be an option of a sovereign state but should not be stated in doctrine. This could be described as "strategic ambiguity".

Sources

Bush, George W. (2004). President Bush Says We Can't Show "Weakness" in War on Terror. Remarks made on August 13, 2004, Retrieved on September 27, 2004, link

Bush, George W. (2002). Remarks by the President at 2002 Graduation Exercise of the United States Military Academy. Retrieved on September 27, 2004, link.

Kimball, Daryl., Kucia, Christine. (2003) New Nuclear Policies, New Weapons, New Dangers. [Electronic Version]. Arms Control Association Press Release April 2003. Retrieved from Arms Control Association Website on September 27, 2004.

Cossa, Ralph. (2002). Regime Change / Preemption Vs. Disarmament / Multilateralism: The U.S. Foreign Policy Debate Continues. Comparative Connections: an E-Journal on East Asian Bilateral Relations, 3rd Quarter, 2002. Retrieved on September 27, 2004 link.

Link to Kerry's strategy page