The Bush Leadership The Power Of Ideas And The War On Terror

Foreign policy success or failure is often attributed to the role of leadership. This volume explores the relationship between President George W. Bush's leadership, the administration's stated belief in the power of ideas (and the ideas of power) and its approach to the war on terror. Drawing on the international expertise of ten American foreign policy and security specialists, this incisive and timely book combines theoretical perspectives on political leadership with rigorous empirical analysis of selected aspects of the Bush administration's post 9/11 foreign policy. As a result, this book sheds considerable light not just on the limited impact of President Bush's war on terror strategy, but also, more importantly, on why key ideas underpinning the strategy, such as US global primacy and pre-emptive war, largely failed to gel in a globalizing world.

The National Security Strategy of the United States (NSS) provides the strategic compass for U.S. global interaction. The current NSS referred to as "The Bush Doctrine," differs from previous published strategy documents in two ways. First developed from the aftermath of 9/11', it's significantly threat-based providing dear visibility on the primary dangers facing America-terrorist organizations with global reach rogue regimes and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). And secondly it provides a stated use-of-force policy that addresses the requirement for offensive action to prevent threats from materializing on American shores. Referred to by critics as the policy of preemption', no other published NSS has received such tremendous negative attention from both domestic leaders and abroad. Policy critics however routinely focus on the controversial neglecting the whole picture perspective of policy intent. lt's here that actions speak louder than words-in the two-plus years of the declared Global War on Terror', the U.S. has yet to overly execute the preemptive option. This paper outlines the threat discusses both the preemptive military arrow and the coercive power concepts associated with diplomacy and attempts to provide policy clarify based on U.S. actions over the last several years. The intent is to illustrate the use of preemptive action as a marginalized option-its the seldom used event-and assert the central role of the diplomatic arm of power in the campaign on terror. And because diplomacy plays the key role for motivating international action the political arena of the United Nations (UN) is integral to success. But until the UN as an institution discovers its place in the new post-Cold War security environment the burden for generating a global response falls squarely on American shoulders. To remain a relevant institution for promoting peace and stability the UN must redefine its role to meet the challenges of today's threats.7.

The presidency of George W. Bush has been widely regarded as having occasioned one of the most dramatic shifts in the history of American foreign policy. The US interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, the declaration of a ‘war on terrorism’ and the enunciation of a ‘Bush Doctrine’ of unrivalled military power, ‘regime change’ for ‘rogue states’, and preventive and pre-emptive war together generated unprecedented divisions in the international community. In this edited volume, leading international experts analyze the nature and scale of the global transformation wrought by the Bush foreign policy in three clear parts: part one examines the extent of the Bush administration’s break with prior American foreign policy. in Part two, region and country-specific experts assess the responses to the Bush Doctrine and the interaction of domestic and international politics that shaped these. They explore how governments, political parties, the media and public opinion react to US foreign policy and assess the implications for domestic, regional and international politics. part three examines the likely long-term implications of the Bush Doctrine in relation to a set of major thematic issues including: war and peace; the global economy; human rights and the UN. Providing a balanced and dispassionate assessment of continuity and change in American foreign policy, national/regional responses to it, and the impact of US foreign policy on a set of ‘big picture’ discrete issues, this book is essential reading for scholars and researchers of international relations and contemporary history.

In this bestselling book the author goes behind the scenes with President George W. Bush and his teams as they lead the nation on a new kind of war.

U.S. national security policy is at a critically important crossroads. The Bush Doctrine of unilateralism, pre-emptive war, and the imposition of democracy by force has proven disastrous. The United States now finds itself vilified abroad, weakened at home, and bogged down in a seemingly endless and unwinnable war. In To Lead the World, Melvyn P. Leffler and Jeffrey W. Legro bring together eleven of America's most esteemed writers and thinkers to offer concrete, historically grounded suggestions for how America can regain its standing in the world and use its power more wisely than it has during the Bush years. Best-selling authors such as David Kennedy, Niall Ferguson, Robert Kagan, Francis Fukuyama, and Samantha Power address such issues as how the US can regain its respect in the world, respond to the biggest threats now facing the country, identify reasonable foreign policy goals, manage the growing debt burden, achieve greater national security, and successfully engage a host of other problems left unsolved and in many cases exacerbated by the Bush Doctrine. Representing a wide range of perspectives, the writers gathered here place the current foreign-policy predicament firmly in the larger context of American and world history and draw upon realistic appraisals of both the strengths and the limits of American power. They argue persuasively that the kind of leadership that made the United States a great--and greatly admired--nation in the past can be revitalized to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Written by prize-winning authors and filled with level-headed, far-sighted, and achievable recommendations, To Lead the World will serve as a primary source of political wisdom in the post-Bush era and will add immeasurably to the policy debates surrounding the 2008 presidential election.

With his unmatched investigative skill, Bob Woodward tells the behind-the-scenes story of how President George W. Bush and his top national security advisers led the nation to war. Extensive quotations from the secret deliberations of the National Security Council and firsthand revelations of the private thoughts, concerns and fears of the president and his war cabinet, make BUSH AT WAR an unprecedented chronicle of a modern presidency in a time of grave crisis. Based on interviews with more than a hundred sources and four hours of exclusive interviews with the president, BUSH AT WAR reveals Bush's sweeping, almost grandiose vision for remaking the world. Woodward's virtual wiretap into the White House Situation Room reveals a stunning group portrait of an untested president and his advisers, three of whom might themselves have made it to the presidency. In BUSH AT WAR, Bob Woodward once again delivers a reporting tour de force.

"There is a long-standing tradition in Western culture of differentiating between 'just' and 'unjust' wars. 11 September 2001 has stimulated a debate in the West which holds that although people who are opposed to war in principle may disagree that any such distinction can possibly be made, the basic ideas involved seem to present a plausible argument that there are times when war is, at the very least, just and politically necessary. These and other issues are addressed in this study. The consistent theme throughout this book is that significant ethical issues and moral dilemmas have been raised as they pertain to the forceful expression of American power via the Bush Doctrine's assertion of the right to engage in first strikes against states and non-states in the wake of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. This book is intended for those with an interest in political science, history, leadership studies and foreign policy analysis."--Provided by publisher.

A high-ranking general's gripping insider account of the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and how it all went wrong. Over a thirty-five-year career, Daniel Bolger rose through the army infantry to become a three-star general, commanding in both theaters of the U.S. campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. He participated in meetings with top-level military and civilian players, where strategy was made and managed. At the same time, he regularly carried a rifle alongside rank-and-file soldiers in combat actions, unusual for a general. Now, as a witness to all levels of military command, Bolger offers a unique assessment of these wars, from 9/11 to the final withdrawal from the region. Writing with hard-won experience and unflinching honesty, Bolger makes the firm case that in Iraq and in Afghanistan, we lost -- but we didn't have to. Intelligence was garbled. Key decision makers were blinded by spreadsheets or theories. And, at the root of our failure, we never really understood our enemy. Why We Lost is a timely, forceful, and compulsively readable account of these wars from a fresh and authoritative perspective.

This field manual establishes doctrine for military operations in a counterinsurgency (COIN) environment. It is based on lessons learned from previous counterinsurgencies and contemporary operations. It is also based on existing interim doctrine and doctrine recently developed. Counterinsurgency operations generally have been neglected in broader American military doctrine and national security policies since the end of the Vietnam War over 40 years ago. This manual is designed to reverse that trend. It is also designed to merge traditional approaches to COIN with the realities of a new international arena shaped by technological advances, globalization, and the spread of extremist ideologies--some of them claiming the authority of a religious faith. This is a comprehensive manual that details every aspect of a successful COIN operation from intelligence to leadership to diplomacy. It also includes several useful appendices that provide important supplementary material.

One of the central pillars of US counterterrorism policy is that capturing or killing a terrorist group's leader is effective. Yet this pillar rests more on a foundation of faith than facts. In Leadership Decapitation, Jenna Jordan examines over a thousand instances of leadership targeting—involving groups such as Hamas, al Qaeda, Shining Path, and ISIS—to identify the successes, failures, and unintended consequences of this strategy. As Jordan demonstrates, group infrastructure, ideology, and popular support all play a role in determining how and why leadership decapitation succeeds or fails. Taking heed of these conditions is essential to an effective counterterrorism policy going forward.