The Bush Doctrine and War with Iraq

Abstract

The Bush Doctrine rests on a definition of the threat based upon what it sees as the combination of " radicalism and technology " —specifically, political and religious extremism joined by the availability of weapons of mass destruc-tion (WMD). In his West Point speech, President Bush declared: The gravest danger to freedom lies at the crossroads of radicalism and technology. When the spread of chemical and biological and nuclear weapons, along with bal-listic missile technology—when that occurs, even weak states and small groups 4 Parameters could attain a catastrophic power to strike great nations. Our enemies have declared this very intention, and have been caught seeking these terrible weapons.