"the Bush Doctrine of preemptive war"
Main Entry: pre·emp·tive.......
4 : marked by the seizing of the initiative : initiated by oneself <a preemptive attack>
Bush's Doctrine of preemptive war 'eh? ____________________________________________________________
Some historic perspective on who's preemptive.......
November 4, 1979 - Iranian radicals seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran and took 66 American diplomats hostage. Thirteen hostages were soon released, but the remaining 53 were held until their release on January 20, 1981.
April 18, 1983 - Terrorist bombing of U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Sixty-three people, including the CIA's Middle East director, were killed, and 120 were injured in a 400- pound suicide truck-bomb attack on the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility.
Oct. 23, 1983 - Beirut Marine Barracks terrorist suicide bombing.
April 12, 1984 - Hizballah Restaurant terrorist bombing, Eighteen U.S. servicemen were killed, and 83 people were injured in a bomb attack on a restaurant near a U.S. Air Force Base in Torrejon, Spain. Responsibility was claimed by Hizballah.
June 14, 1985 - TWA flight 847 Hijacking en route to Rome from Athens by two Lebanese Hizballah terrorists.
June 23, 1985 - Air India Bombing, A bomb destroyed an Air India Boeing 747 over the Atlantic, killing all 329 people aboard. Both Sikh and Kashmiri terrorists were blamed for the attack.
October 7, 1985 - Achille Lauro Hijacking, Four Palestinian Liberation Front terrorists seized the Italian cruise liner in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, taking more than 700 hostages.
November 23, 1985 - Egyptair Flight 648 carrying several U.S. citizens was hijacked by the Palestinian terrorist group Abu Nidal.
March 30, 1986 - A Palestinian splinter group detonated a bomb as TWA Flight 840 approached Athens Airport, killing four U.S. citizens.
April 5, 1986 - Two U.S. soldiers were killed, and 79 American servicemen were injured in a Libyan bomb attack on a nightclub in West Berlin, West Germany.
April 24, 1987 - Sixteen U.S. servicemen riding in a Greek Air Force bus near Athens were injured in an apparent bombing attack, carried out by the terrorist revolutionary organization known as 17 November.
August 1988 - after eight years of horrific violence, the Iran-Iraq war ended.
August 25, 1988 - Shortly after the ceasefire that ended the Iran-Iraq war, the government of Saddam Hussein launched a major military offensive against the Kurds in northern Iraq, sending tens of thousand of refugees who either witnessed or showed physical symptoms of chemical weapons attacks. Iraqi use of Chemical Weapons on Kurds kills thousands of men, women & children.
December 21, 1988 - Pan Am 103 explodes over Lockerbie, Scotland in a terrorist bombing by Libyan terrorists. All 259 people on board were killed.
January 15, 1990 - U.S. Embassy Bombed in Lima, Peru by the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement.
Aug. 2, 1990 - Iraq invades Kuwait
January 16, 1991 Operation Desert Storm began when all diplomatic attempts to get Saddam Hussein to withdraw from Kuwait fail.
January 18-19, 1991 - Attempted Iraqi Attacks on U.S. Posts, Iraqi agents planted bombs at the U.S. Ambassador to Indonesia's home residence and at the USIS library in Manila.
April 9, 1991 - Gulf War cease-fire agreement was signed.
The brutality, war crimes & atrocities committed against Kuwait's are horrific.
An environmental disaster of epoch proportions was caused by Saddam's retreating forces. More than 600 Kuwaiti oil wells were set on fire More than 10 million barrels of oil were poured into the sea, more than 1 billion barrels of oil went up in flames. Kuwait and much of the Persian Gulf was engulfed in a poisonous smoke. The burning oil fields released nearly a half-billion tons of carbon dioxide. Spills of 60 million barrels of oil in the desert formed huge oil lakes and percolated into aquifers.
"The first Gulf War was the biggest environmental disaster in recent history," said Gar Smith, former editor of Earth Island Journal .
February 26, 1993 - World Trade Center terrorist attack when a car bomb planted by Islamic terrorists explodes in an underground garage. The bomb left six people dead and 1,000 injured. The men carrying out the attack were followers of Umar Abd al-Rahman, an Egyptian cleric who preached in the New York City area.
April 13, 1993 - an assassination attempt against former President Bush <Sr.> by the Iraqi intelligence service is foiled.
September 13, 1995 - U.S. Embassy in Moscow, A rocket- propelled grenade was fired through the window of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, ostensibly in retaliation for U.S. strikes on Serb positions in Bosnia.
June 25, 1996 - Khobar Towers Bombing, A fuel truck carrying a bomb exploded outside the U.S. military's Khobar Towers housing facility in Dhahran, killing 19 U.S. military personnel and wounding 515 persons, including 240 U.S. personnel. Several terrorist groups claimed responsibility for the attack.
February 23, 1997 - Empire State Building Sniper Attack, A Palestinian gunman opened fire on tourists at an observation deck atop the Empire State Building in New York City, killing a Danish national and wounding visitors from the United States, Argentina, Switzerland, and France before turning the gun on himself. A handwritten note carried by the gunman claimed this was a punishment attack against the "enemies of Palestine."
August 7, 1998 - U.S. Embassy terrorist Bombing in Nairobi. A bomb exploded at the rear entrance of the U.S. embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, killing 12 U.S. citizens, 32 Foreign Service Nationals (FSNs), and 247 Kenyan citizens. About 5,000 Kenyans, six U.S. citizens, and 13 FSNs were injured. The U.S. embassy building sustained extensive structural damage. The U.S. Government held Usama Bin Ladin responsible.
August 7, 1998 - U.S. Embassy terrorist Bombing in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing seven FSNs and three Tanzanian citizens, and injuring one U.S. citizen and 76 Tanzanians. The explosion caused major structural damage to the U.S. embassy facility. The U.S. Government held Usama Bin Ladin responsible.
October 12, 2000 - USS Cole terrorist bombing in Aden, Yemen. A small dingy carrying explosives rammed the destroyer U.S.S. Cole, killing 17 sailors and injuring 39 others. Supporters of Usama Bin Ladin were suspected.
<font size=4> September 11, 2001 - Two hijacked airliners crashed into the twin towers of the World Trade Center. Soon thereafter, the Pentagon was struck by a third hijacked plane. A fourth hijacked plane, suspected to be bound for a high-profile target in Washington, crashed into a field in southern Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000 U.S. citizens and other nationals were killed as a result of these acts. President Bush and Cabinet officials indicated that Usama Bin Laden was the prime suspect and that they considered the United States in a state of war with international terrorism. In the aftermath of the worst terrorist attack in history, the United States formed the Global Coalition Against Terrorism.
November 6, 2001 - President Bush said, "There is no room for neutrality in the war against terrorism, and the international coalition against terror will "fight this evil and fight until we are rid of it,"........ Over time it's going to be important for nations to know they will be held accountable for inactivity," he said. "You're either with us or against us in the fight against terror." <font size=3>
November 8, 2002 - Resolution 1441 passed. Iraq remains in violation of the Gulf War cease fire agreement from April 1991, with no end in sight. This resolution demands complete, immediate & unconditional compliance. It warns of serious consequences for any material breeches of Resolution 1441. Diplomacy continues & inspections resume.
US officials present evidence of Iraq's ties with terrorist organizations (harboring, financing & training) including the Palestine Liberation Front (PLF), Ansar al-Islam, a terrorist organization with known ties to al-Qaeda & Al Qaeda, ET AL.
Multiple material breeches of Resolution 1441 occurred & 12 years of diplomacy utterly collapsed. Back stabbing by France, Germany & Russia (ET AL) were primary reasons for the failure of diplomacy because of their substantial financial self interest & illegal arms sales, ET AL, would be in jeopardy of being exposed if force were to be used.
<font size=5>March 19, 2003 - Operation Iraqi Freedom began.
Who preempted whom? These frequent allegions of a Bush Doctrine of preemptive war depends on which facts one wishes to include in their decision making. The above list is evidence that the term preemptive war no longer has any credibility IMVHO. |