William_T._Bianco,_David_T._Canon]_American_Polit

624 Chapter 17 | Foreign Policy

However, it is important to understand that there is considerable disagreement

about the usefulness of soft power. Some Republicans, including President

Donald Trump, argue that military force remains the dominant factor in shaping

international relations, meaning that America must remain the dominant military

power in order to maintain its security and strong economy. The resolution of

this ongoing debate shapes America’s military spending and deployments of

armed forces, its decisions about participation in international trade agreements

and climate control agreements, its decisions about intervention in internal

conflicts^ such^ as the Syrian civil war and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and

many other areas.

We don’t want the smoking gun

to be a mushroom cloud.

—Secretary of State

Condoleezza Rice

The Al Qaeda terrorist organization

headed by Osama bin Laden was the

driving force behind many terrorist

attacks on Americans, including the

2001 attacks on the World Trade

Center and the Pentagon. In 2011,

American forces killed bin Laden,

but the group, along with newer

organizations such as ISIL, remains a

significant threat.

However, new security threats emerged in the form of terrorist groups, most

notably Al Qaeda, led by Osama bin Laden, who organized the September 11, 2001

attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

Some analysts and politicians, including President George W. Bush, described these

attacks as part of a worldwide “clash of civilizations” or a global War on Terror, pitting

the secular West against radical Islam.^34 After the attacks, President George W. Bush

announced a new U.S. policy, the Bush Doctrine, or the doctrine of preemption,

whereby the United States would not wait until after an attack to respond but would

use military force to eliminate potential threats before they could be put in motion.

This policy change was intended to prevent another September 11 attack, as the quote

from Bush’s National Security Advisor and secretary of state Condoleezza Rice

illustrates.

President Obama emphasized improving foreign perceptions of America and

Americans, ending the ground war in Iraq, and avoiding unilateral action in favor

of multilateral coalitions. However, many of Obama’s policies in regard to the War

on Terror, such as his emphasis on drone attacks (see the Take a Stand feature in this

chapter) and America’s limited involvement in the Syrian civil war, were quite similar

to those established by the Bush administration.

Bush Doctrine

The foreign policy of President

George W. Bush, under which the

United States would use military

force preemptively against threats to

its national security.

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