Wolfowitz
Doctrine
From
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Paul Wolfowitz,
co-author of the doctrine.
Wolfowitz Doctrine is an unofficial name given to the
initial version of the Defense Planning Guidance for the 1994–99 fiscal years
(dated February 18, 1992) authored by Under
Secretary of Defense for Policy Paul Wolfowitz and his
deputy Scooter Libby.
Not intended for public release, it was leaked to the New York Times
on March 7, 1992,[1]
and sparked a public controversy about U.S. foreign and defense policy. The
document was widely criticized as imperialist as the
document outlined a policy of unilateralism and
pre-emptive military action to suppress potential threats from other nations
and prevent any other nation from rising to superpower status.
Such
was the outcry that the document was hastily re-written under the close
supervision of U.S.
Secretary of Defense Dick
Cheney and Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell before being
officially released on April 16, 1992. Many of its tenets re-emerged in the Bush Doctrine,[2]
which was described by Senator Edward M. Kennedy as
"a call for 21st century American imperialism that no other nation can or
should accept."[3]
Although
Wolfowitz was ultimately responsible for the Defense Planning Guidance, as it
was released through his office and was reflective of his overall outlook, he
did not participate in its drafting, nor saw it before it was publicly
released.[4]
The task of preparing the document fell to Libby, who delegated the process of
writing the new strategy to Zalmay Khalizad, a
member of Libby's staff and longtime aide to Wolfowitz. In the initial phase of
drafting the document, Khalizad solicited the opinions of a wide cross-section
of Pentagon insiders and outsiders, including Andrew
Marshall, Richard
Perle, and Wolfowitz's University of Chicago mentor, the nuclear strategist
Albert Wohlstetter.[5]
Completing the draft in March of 1992, Khalizad requested permission from Libby
to circulate it to other officials within the Pentagon. Libby assented and
within three days Khalizad's draft was released to the New York Times by
"an official who believ[ed] this post-cold war strategy debate should be
carried out in the public domain." [6]
Contents
- 1 Doctrine articles
- 1.1 Superpower status
- 1.2 U.S. primacy
- 1.3 Unilateralism
- 1.4 Pre-emptive intervention
- 1.5 Russian threat
- 1.6 Middle East and Southwest Asia
- 2 See also
- 3 References
- 4 Bibliography
- 5 External links
Doctrine articles
Superpower status
The
doctrine announces the U.S’s status as the world’s only remaining superpower
following the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end
of the Cold War and
proclaims its main objective to be retaining that status.
Our first objective is to prevent
the re-emergence of a new rival, either on the territory of the former Soviet
Union or elsewhere, that poses a threat on the order of that posed formerly by
the Soviet Union. This is a dominant consideration underlying the new regional
defense strategy and requires that we endeavor to prevent any hostile power
from dominating a region whose resources would, under consolidated control, be
sufficient to generate global power.
This
was substantially re-written in the April 16 release.
Our most fundamental goal is to
deter or defeat attack from whatever source... The second goal is to strengthen
and extend the system of defense arrangements that binds democratic and
like-minded nations together in common defense against aggression, build habits
of cooperation, avoid the renationalization of security policies, and provide
security at lower costs and with lower risks for all. Our preference for a
collective response to preclude threats or, if necessary, to deal with them is
a key feature of our regional defense strategy. The third goal is to preclude
any hostile power from dominating a region critical to our interests, and also
thereby to strengthen the barriers against the re-emergence of a global threat
to the interests of the U.S. and our allies.
U.S. primacy
The
doctrine establishes the U.S’s leadership role within the new world order.
The U.S. must show the leadership
necessary to establish and protect a new order that holds the promise of
convincing potential competitors that they need not aspire to a greater role or
pursue a more aggressive posture to protect their legitimate interests. In
non-defense areas, we must account sufficiently for the interests of the
advanced industrial nations to discourage them from challenging our leadership
or seeking to overturn the established political and economic order. We must
maintain the mechanism for deterring potential competitors from even aspiring
to a larger regional or global role.
This
was substantially re-written in the April 16 release.
One of the primary tasks we face
today in shaping the future is carrying long standing alliances into the new
era, and turning old enmities into new cooperative relationships. If we and
other leading democracies continue to build a democratic security community, a
much safer world is likely to emerge. If we act separately, many other problems
could result.
Unilateralism
The
doctrine downplays the value of international coalitions.
Like the coalition that opposed
Iraqi aggression, we should expect future coalitions to be ad hoc assemblies,
often not lasting beyond the crisis being confronted, and in many cases
carrying only general agreement over the objectives to be accomplished.
Nevertheless, the sense that the world order is ultimately backed by the U.S. will
be an important stabilizing factor.
This
was re-written with a change in emphasis in the April 16 release.
Certain situations like the crisis
leading to the Gulf War are likely to engender ad hoc coalitions. We should
plan to maximize the value of such coalitions. This may include specialized
roles for our forces as well as developing cooperative practices with others.
Pre-emptive intervention
The
doctrine stated the U.S’s right to intervene when and where it believed
necessary.
While the U.S. cannot become the
world's policeman, by assuming responsibility for righting every wrong, we will
retain the preeminent responsibility for addressing selectively those wrongs
which threaten not only our interests, but those of our allies or friends, or
which could seriously unsettle international relations.
This
was softened slightly in the April 16 release.
While the United States cannot
become the world's policeman and assume responsibility for solving every
international security problem, neither can we allow our critical interests to
depend solely on international mechanisms that can be blocked by countries
whose interests may be very different than our own. Where our allies interests
are directly affected, we must expect them to take an appropriate share of the
responsibility, and in some cases play the leading role; but we maintain the
capabilities for addressing selectively those security problems that threaten
our own interests.
Russian threat
The
doctrine highlighted the possible threat posed by a resurgent Russia.
We continue to recognize that
collectively the conventional forces of the states formerly comprising the
Soviet Union retain the most military potential in all of Eurasia; and we do
not dismiss the risks to stability in Europe from a nationalist backlash in
Russia or efforts to reincorporate into Russia the newly independent republics
of Ukraine, Belarus, and possibly others....We must, however, be mindful that
democratic change in Russia is not irreversible, and that despite its current
travails, Russia will remain the strongest military power in Eurasia and the
only power in the world with the capability of destroying the United States.
This
was removed from the April 16 release in favour of a more diplomatic approach.
The U.S. has a significant stake in
promoting democratic consolidation and peaceful relations between Russia,
Ukraine and the other republics of the former Soviet Union.
Middle East and Southwest Asia
The
doctrine clarified the overall objectives in the Middle East and Southwest
Asia.
In the Middle East and Southwest
Asia, our overall objective is to remain the predominant outside power in the
region and preserve U.S. and Western access to the region's oil. We also seek
to deter further aggression in the region, foster regional stability, protect
U.S. nationals and property, and safeguard our access to international air and
seaways. As demonstrated by Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, it remains fundamentally
important to prevent a hegemon or alignment of powers from dominating the
region. This pertains especially to the Arabian peninsula. Therefore, we must
continue to play a role through enhanced deterrence and improved cooperative
security.
...
The
April 16 release was more circumspect and it reaffirmed U.S. commitments to
Israel as well as its Arab allies.
In the Middle East and Persian Gulf,
we seek to foster regional stability, deter aggression against our friends and
interests in the region, protect U.S. nationals and property, and safeguard our
access to international air and seaways and to the region's oil. The United
States is committed to the security of Israel and to maintaining the qualitative edge
that is critical to Israel's security. Israel's confidence in its security and
U.S.-Israel strategic cooperation contribute to the stability of the entire
region, as demonstrated once again during the Persian Gulf War. At the same
time, our assistance to our Arab friends to defend themselves against
aggression also strengthens security throughout the region, including for
Israel.
See also
References
1.
· Tyler
1992.
· · Gaddis
2002, p. 52: "Preemption […] requires hegemony. Although Bush
speaks, in his letter of transmittal, of creating 'a balance of power that
favors human freedom' while forsaking 'unilateral advantage,' the body of the
NSS makes it clear that 'our forces will be strong enough to dissuade potential
adversaries from pursuing a military build-up in hopes of surpassing, or
equaling, the power of the United States.' The West Point speech put it more
bluntly: 'America has, and intends to keep, military strengths beyond
challenge.' The president has at last approved, therefore, Paul Wolfowitz's
controversial recommendation to this effect, made in a 1992 'Defense Planning
Guidance' draft subsequently leaked to the press and then disavowed by the
first Bush administration. It's no accident that Wolfowitz, as deputy secretary
of defense, has been at the center of the new Bush administration's strategic
planning."
· · Mann,
James (2004). Rise of the Vulcans :
the history of Bush's war cabinet (1. publ. ed.). New York, NY [u.a.]:
Viking. p. 209. ISBN 0-670-03299-9.
· · Mann
2004, p. 210.
6. · Mann 2004, p. 210
Bibliography
Bush, George W. (1 June
2002). "Remarks
to the U.S. Military Academy". cfr.org.
Retrieved 12 May 2013.
Gaddis, John Lewis
(2002). "Grand Strategy of Transformation". Foreign Policy
(133): 50–57. JSTOR 3183557.
Gaddis's essay is reprinted in Paul Bolt, Damon V. Coletta and Collins G. Shackleford Jr., eds., (2005), American Defense Policy (8th ed.), Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Gaddis's essay is reprinted in Paul Bolt, Damon V. Coletta and Collins G. Shackleford Jr., eds., (2005), American Defense Policy (8th ed.), Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Caputo Leiva, Orlando (2007).
"The World Economy and the United States at the Beginning of the
Twenty-first Century". Latin American
Perspectives 34 (1): 9–15. doi:10.1177/0094582x06296357.
JSTOR 27647989.
Tyler, Patrick E. (8 March 1992). "U.S.
Strategy Plan Calls For Insuring No Rivals Develop". The New York Times.
Retrieved 30 October 2013.
External links
- Defense Policy Guidance 1992–1994
- Defense Strategy for the 1990s: The Regional Defense Strategy, (PDF 1.6MB)
- Patrick Tyler. U.S. Strategy Plan Calls for Insuring No Rivals Develop: A One-Superpower World, New York Times, March 8, 1992.
- Jim Lobe. The Anniversary of a Neo-Imperial Moment, AlterNet, September 12, 2002.
- David Armstrong. Drafting a plan for global dominance, Harper's Magazine, October 2002.
- David Yost. Dissuasion and Allies, Strategic Insights, February 2005.
- Patrick J. Buchanan Whose war?, The American Conservative, March 2003.
- Applying the Wolfowitz Doctrine post the September 11 attacks: Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear and the Selling of American Empire, 2004.
|
- Foreign policy doctrines of the United States
- 1992 in the United States
- 1992 in international relations
- Presidency of George H. W. Bush
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