War and the American Presidency: Bush Doctrine revisited

Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. is arguably one of the most influential historical and political writers of our time. As a member of the Kennedy Administration's inner circle, he won a pulitzer prize for his biography of Kennedy's life: A Thousand Days: John F. Kennedy in the White House. He also published other important works such as The Imperial Presidency and Cycles of American History. The topic of one of his more recent works is War and the American Presidency which focuses on the relationship between American presidents when faced with decisions about War. Throughout the course of this text, Schlesinger argues that unilateralism is America's oldest foreign policy doctrine, revisits the idea of the imperial presidency, examines the Iraq war, and the relationship between religion and the American presidency. All in all, I believe that War and the American presidency is a direct critique of the Bush administrations policy and doctrine in regards to war.

Schlesinger outlines the fact that unilateralism has a long history in the United States starting with Washington's farewell address where he stated that the United States "should steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world." From the denouncing of Wilson's League of Nations to the revival of isolationism throughout the precursor of World War II, it seemed that the United States was heeding Washington's warning. But how does this idea relate to the "Bush Doctrine" and Iraq War? First one must define what the "Bush Doctrine" is. There are multiple definitions. One includes his withdrawal from the ABM Treaty and rejection of the Kyoto Protocol. The other and one that is most relevant to this discussion is what President Bush outlined nine days after the attacks on 9/11. In his address to the joint sessions of Congress, Bush reiterated "either you are with us or with the terrorists." This would be the reasoning for going into Afghanistan and Iraq (along with of course the threat of WMD's, which Schlesinger also addressed later). According to Schlesinger, the Bush doctrine revealed the limits of unilateralism. Once things became more difficult, Bush attempted to leave the mess for the UN to handle. Also, while over 30 countries had supported the U.S. policy, some American allies such as France, Turkey and Germany rejected their stance.

Bush's presidency also embodies Schlesinger's coined term of an "imperial presidency." Not only did President Bush order more signing statements than any other president in the history of the United States, but he also found ways to expand his power, especially when it comes to wartime abilities. He sought to eliminate 500 cases from Guantanamo detainees.

What else about the Iraq War changed American foreign policy? Bush replaced a policy aimed at peace through the prevention of war by a policy aimed at peace through preventative war. This distinction between "preemptive" and "preventative" war essentially defines the line between legality and illegality, according to Schlesinger. A preemptive threat, he states, is one in which there exists a definitive, direct, specific threat that must be met at once. Preventative on the other hand refers to a future, potential, speculative threat.

Finally, Schlesinger highlights the relationship between religion and the presidency and how much it should be allowed to play a role in their decisions. President Kennedy was hailed and criticized for being the first Catholic president and with that came many uninformed assumptions. Bush on the other hand believes that he was "called by a greater power to lead the charge against terrorism" and he also utilized his born-again Christendom to gain votes in the 2000 election. When asked if Bush had gone to his father for advice regarding the War on Terror, Bush said that "there is a higher power that I appeal to." His first executive order even to establish an Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. What is certain however, is that only President Bush and his cabinet knows the reasoning for involving the United States in the Middle East. But one can infer from his stoutly religious background is that it is possible that he believed that it was his job to combat evil, establish virtue and redeem this region.

While Schlesinger highlights all of these points in book War and the American Presidency, he does not outward state that this is his intent. What is a fact however is that the Bush Doctrine implemented a serious change in foreign policy that began to plunge our nation into what would be the worst recession since the 1980s. Certainly, history will be left to be the judge of what President Bush's doctrine will leave for our legacy as a nation.