I was sure you could help us out with why one war was OK and "preventative" and one wasn't OK (in the eyes of some), and was deemed by 'those some' as "preemptive".....
First of all, I don't see anything in those words to make one action inherently bad and one good. They both seem like neutral words to me. If one war was OK and not the other, it wasn't a function of applying either of those labels.
The word describe different actions. I went to the thesaurus and looked up both "prevent" and "preempt." Despite the myriad related words, neither word was listed as related to the other. Which indicates they are two different things, not two related words on a sliding scale from good to bad. You can't reasonably infer a value judgment from the differing choice of words.
nations that did not, could not and would not want to do anything against the United States
Although this clause appears to have been included to help the author make his point, I think it does just the opposite. I think it serves to illustrate the appropriate difference in word usage. "Preempt" means beating the other guy to the punch. If the other guy isn't going to punch us, as this language states, then when we punch him it can't be called "preemption" because there wouldn't have been any "empt" to beat. Iraq, OTOH, was framed as beating them to the punch--a punch was assumed to be forthcoming--so "preemption" is an apt usage in that case.
IMO, "prevention" applies to both. In each we were looking to prevent different things but in both cases we were trying to prevent something.
So, in summary, I think that "prevent" can apply to both Bosnia/Kosofo and Iraq but that "preempt" can only apply to Iraq.
I think this whole prevent/preempt thing is a trip down the garden path. It seems to me reasonable to question why military action in one case would be appropriate but the other not. Focusing on word usage is not helpful in getting to the bottom of that.
I am sure you will find this analysis utterly unsatisfying. <g>
With regard to your earlier point, no, I didn't approve of going into Bosnia and Kosovo, either. Since I have been old enough to have an opinion on such things, Afghanistan is the only war that I've approved. |
