Berman, Paul, Boot, Max, Buckley Jr., William F., Cohen, Eliot A., Ferguson, Niall, Friedberg, Aaron L., Gaffney Jr., Frank J., Gerecht, Reuel Marc, Hanson, Victor Davis, Harries, Owen, Helprin, Mark, Henninger, Daniel, Hoffmann, Stanley, Joffe, Josef, Johnson, Paul, Kagan, Robert, Kristol, William, Lieber, Robert J., Lowry, Richard, and Luttwak, Edward N.
This article presents positions of leading American thinkers Paul Berman, Max Boot, William F. Buckley Jr., among others, on the U.S. national security approach of President George W. Bush. In response to a radically changed world situation since the Islamist attacks of 9/11, the U.S. under Bush has adopted a broad new approach to national security. The Bush Doctrine, as this policy has come to be known, emphasizes the need for preemption in order to confront the worst threats before they emerge. At issue are the precise nature of the threats faced by the U.S. and the West, the specific tactics adopted by the administration in meeting them, U.S. capabilities and staying power, relations with traditional allies, the larger intentions and moral bona fides of U.S. foreign policy, and much else besides.