Bacevich: ‘I want to see President Obama explicitly abrogate the doctrine of preventive war.’
Bacevich: ‘I want to see President Obama explicitly abrogate the doctrine of preventive war.’
Earlier today, ThinkProgress interviewed Andrew Bacevich, a professor of international relations at Boston University who has been one of the most astute foreign policy critics of the Bush administration. (Bacevich’s son died while serving in Iraq.) In his new book, The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism, Bacevich challenges Obama to “go beyond merely pointing out the folly of the Iraq war” and “demonstrate that Iraq represents the truest manifestation of an approach to national security that is fundamentally flawed.” We asked Bacevich what he would like to see Obama say and do over the coming months:
I would want to see a President Obama explicitly abrogate the doctrine of preventive war and to question fundamentally whether global war — open-ended global war — really provides the proper framework in which to address the threat posed by violent Islamic radicalism. I did not hear him pose those fundamental questions on the campaign trail, and it’s not clear to me that — given the kind of people he’s appointing — it’s not clear to me that those most fundamental questions are going to be asked after January 20.
Listen here:
More from the interview on the Wonk Room.
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22 Responses to “Bacevich: ‘I want to see President Obama explicitly abrogate the doctrine of preventive war.’”
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Abrogate. Nice word. See also repudiate, abhor, renounce...
November 24th, 2008 at 3:26 pmI'd like to see that too.
The sooner, the better.
November 24th, 2008 at 3:28 pmI wonder if a rapid reduction of the number of American troops serving as targets in Iraqnam won't say the same thing without using the words??
November 24th, 2008 at 3:36 pmpreventive war- now there's an oxymoron the likes of which i've never seen. then again, the irony was lost on the mouth breathing bush supporters.
November 24th, 2008 at 3:38 pmI thought Obama put the Jeremiah Wright (A-bro-gate) thing
November 24th, 2008 at 3:47 pmto rest?
So is "incarcerate."
November 24th, 2008 at 3:49 pmThat's for sure Bozo The Neoclown! Let's start wars to prevent wars, yikes.
A Vietnam war veteran was sharing some battlefield stories with me the other day (he did four tours, took nine bullets and survived two stabbings) and the contrast to the rules of engagement then and now was astounding.
In 'Nam, from what he was saying there used to be really strict rules about even when they were allowed to respond to being fired upon.
Now, we routinely drop bombs on groups of people justifying it by saying that it was aimed at "suspected insurgents".
November 24th, 2008 at 3:54 pmThe invasion of Iraq only served to instigate terrorism...
November 24th, 2008 at 3:54 pmTerrorism is a symptom of our dependence on oil and our
November 24th, 2008 at 4:04 pmpreverted foreign policy because of it.
Bacevich was interviewed by Jim Lehrer about two months ago. Brilliant guy and extremely forthright. I was really hoping that Obama would find a place for him in the administration.
November 24th, 2008 at 4:32 pmScratch that. It was Bill Moyers, not Lehrer and it was August 15.
November 24th, 2008 at 4:33 pmI would want to see a President Obama explicitly abrogate the doctrine of preventive war and to question fundamentally whether global war — open-ended global war — really provides the proper framework in which to address the threat posed by violent Islamic radicalism.
That would be a nice start, but I think that Congress also needs to have some hearings on the issue and draft legislation that would prohibit the President from circumventing Congress and its constitutional authority to declare war. Remember, Congress never declared war on Iraq; Bush used the authorization to use force to get around the Constitution. Explicit limits must be put into legislation that will tie the hands of future George W. Bushes from repeating the abuses of power for which Dubya is so well-known.
November 24th, 2008 at 4:36 pmInteresting how many people feel so free to demand Obama to do something and fix the Economic and Foreign problems yet these same people are afraid to demand Bush/Cheney do anything. Cheney has been indicted yet not a word is spoken about it in the Media. I guess Mr. Bacevich is feeling like a man as he stands up to demand the President Elect do something but Mr. Bacevich was a coward for 8 years and was like a little girl and couldn't stand up for Bush and never will.
November 24th, 2008 at 4:49 pmI so completely agree with Andrew Bacevich. The Bush administration did such incredible damage to this country (and to the world) in so many ways. But the "Bush Doctrine" which included "preventative war" was one of the most harmful, and basically changed the rules of war for the U.S. for the first time in our history. On what I consider an equal footing is the attack on the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.
You remember this Bush quote?: "Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we." Aug. 5, 2004
I don't think this was any slip of the tongue.
November 24th, 2008 at 4:54 pmWhile I agree with you Jackie that it's wild how free everyone seems to be to demand that Obama do this, Obama do that (while Bush/Cheney and the rest of them seemed to be given a free pass for years) to say that Mr. Bacevich did nothing for the last 8 years isn't true.
Check out this book he wrote which was published in early 2005:
The New American Militarism: How Americans Are Seduced by War
and a clip from the blurb:
"It should be a must read for those who wonder how we got to Iraq and where we might be heading as a society."
November 24th, 2008 at 5:15 pm.
Q U E S T I O N:
How does one prevent war by initiating war?
.
November 24th, 2008 at 6:29 pm.
Q U E S T I O N:
Can I prevent hostilities in my neighborhood by physically attacking those in my neighborhood who've never assaulted me?
How does that NOT make me the aggressor?
Does being the Chief of Police legalize my actions?
.
November 24th, 2008 at 6:37 pmThe Limits of Power is my favorite book of this year. (Last year's was "The Shock Doctrine" by Naomi Klein.)
November 24th, 2008 at 7:09 pmBoth are timely and accurately predictive of the collapse of American hegemony.
Get the audiobooks, they are both fantastically read.
chimpy likes to call it preventive war but it's really a cowardly doctrine and called a sneaked attack.
Where were Bacevich and others when chimpy was getting away with murder?
November 24th, 2008 at 7:31 pmGame of Life Says:
Where were Bacevich and others when chimpy was getting away with murder?
Probably the same place most of us were. Calling, apparently fruitlessly, from the outside of the power centers.
November 24th, 2008 at 8:18 pmMax-1 Says:
Q U E S T I O N:
Can I prevent hostilities in my neighborhood by physically attacking those in my neighborhood who’ve never assaulted me?
How does that NOT make me the aggressor?
Does being the Chief of Police legalize my actions?
The Bush doctrine is a universally applicable doctrine of action that one may use to determine the course of nations as well as the course of personal relations. For example, if you have a friend who knows things about you and threatens to give others proof, then take that friend hunting (you know how the rest of this goes). But don't just stop at friends and enemies. Don't stop at the neighborhood, either. This doctrine will keep you safe at all times: anywhere you go, if you see someone who YOU BELIEVE might want to harm you OR who might be capable of harming you, then immediately act to neutralize that threat. First rule when you walk into a tavern (utilizing the Bush doctrine) is to scan the room for potential threats, and then to immediately move to eliminate the threats. If you can talk others into helping you, all the better. And don't be afraid to come armed: those threats just could be armed with personal WMDs.
Bush doctrine: attack anyone who you think might be a threat to you or your property, or who might have something that you want (theft is only bad when it is done to you, you know....).
November 25th, 2008 at 7:46 amJust like the cold war when everyone who didn’t agree with the U.S. was either a communist or a communist sympathizer. toki This poor crazy guy spent half a decade being tortured because a bunch of stupid politicians araç sorgulama were sure the NVA was in bed with the Russians (minimal help) and/or the Chinese (ancient enemy of the vietnamese). ssk sorgulama You would think he would have learned from others’ mistakes. Guess not. Republicans need an enemy. key ödemeleri This century it apparently will be all Muslims, health all of whom must be alQaeda operatives.
March 1st, 2009 at 1:32 pm