Preventive war

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A preventive war is an armed conflict "initiated in the belief that military conflict, while not imminent, is inevitable, and that to delay would involve greater risk."

preemptive strike, which is the first strike when an attack is imminent.[2] Preventive uses of force "seek to stop another state . . . from developing a military capability before it becomes threatening or to hobble or destroy it thereafter, whereas [p]reemptive uses of force come against a backdrop of tactical intelligence or warning indicating imminent military action by an adversary."[4]

Criticism

The majority view is that a preventive war undertaken without the approval of the

UN Security Council, which can authorize such action,[10] given that one of the Council's main functions under Chapter VII of the UN Charter ("Action with Respect to Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression") is to enforce the obligation of member states under Article 4, Paragraph 2 to "refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state . . .[11] The Charter's drafters assumed that the Council might need to employ preventive force to forestall aggression such as initiated by Nazi Germany in the 1930s.[12]

Examples

The

Franklin Roosevelt for help but was rebuffed on the grounds that "movements of conquest by Germany will continue and will extend beyond Europe to Asia, Africa, and even to the Americas, unless they are stopped by military force."[13]

Pearl Harbor

Main articles:
Events leading to the attack on Pearl Harbor

Perhaps the most famous example of preventive war is the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan on December 7, 1941.[14] Many in the US and Japan believed war to be inevitable. Coupled to the crippling US economic embargo that was rapidly degrading the Japanese military capability, that led the Japanese leadership to believe it was better to have the war as soon as possible.[14]

The sneak attack was partly motivated by a desire to destroy the

Japanese expansionism in the Far East increased. For example, in May 1940, the base of the US Pacific Fleet that was stationed on the West Coast was forwarded to an "advanced" position at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii
.

The move was opposed by some

Japan's imperialist desires, especially if hostilities broke out in the Pacific.[citation needed
] War games on both sides had long reflected those expectations.

Iraq War (2003–2011)

Main articles: Criticism of the Iraq War and Rationale for the Iraq War

The

weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Iraq's history of noncompliance of international security matters and its history of both developing and using such weapons were factors in the public perception of Iraq's having weapons of mass destruction
.

In support of an attack on Iraq, US President

UN General Assembly on September 12, 2002 that the Iraqi "regime is a grave and gathering danger."[18] However, despite extensive searches during the several years of occupation, the suspected weapons of mass destruction or weapons program infrastructure alleged by the Bush administration were not found to be functional or even known to most Iraqi leaders.[19] Coalition forces instead found dispersed and sometimes-buried and partially dismantled stockpiles of abandoned and functionally expired chemical weapons. Some of the caches had been dangerously stored and were leaking, and many were then disposed of hastily and in secret, leading to secondary exposure from improper handling. Allegations of mismanagement and information suppression followed.[20][21]

See also

References

  1. ^ Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms p.413 (2001, as amended 2002).
  2. ^ a b Taming American Power, Stephen M. Walt, pp 224
  3. S2CID 154345645
    .
  4. ^ William Safire, "Rope-a-Dope: A Lexicon of Intervention," N.Y. Times, Oct. 13, 2002, p.30, 31.
  5. ^ Beinart, Peter (2017-04-21). "How America Shed the Taboo Against Preventive War". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
  6. ISBN 9781137411440
  7. ISBN 9780199233137
  8. ISBN 978-0-521-72814-0
    .
  9. ISBN 978-0-19-921176-0
    .
  10. ^ https://www.unog.ch/80256EDD006B8954/(httpAssets)/C9B1B6D819968E83C1256F5E00597208/$file/Report+of+the+High-level+Panel+on+Threats+Challenges+and+Change.pdf Archived 2021-01-23 at the Wayback Machine p.54
  11. ^ "United Nations Charter (Full text)".
  12. ^ "One of the fundamental purposes of the Charter is to provide forces which will be immediately available to the Security Council to take action to prevent a breach of the peace."Senate Executive Report No. 8, "to Accompany Executive F," 79th Cong. (1945).
  13. ^ Sunrise at Abadan, Stewart Richard pp 94–108
  14. ^ a b J. Barnes, R. Stoll, "PREEMPTIVE AND PREVENTIVE WAR: A PRELIMINARY TAXONOMY", p.15, THE JAMES A. BAKER III INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC POLICY RICE UNIVERSITY, URL Archived 2010-11-23 at the Wayback Machine
  15. ^ Keith Crane, Imported oil and US national security, p. 26, Rand Environment, Energy, and Economic Development (Program), International Security and Defense Policy Center
  16. ^ David E. Sanger, "Bush's Doctrine for War," N.Y. Times, March 18, 2003 at A1
  17. ^ "Bush's Speech on Iraq: 'Saddam Hussein and His Sons Must Leave,'" N.Y. Times, March 18, 2003 at A 10.
  18. ^ President's Remarks at the United Nations General Assembly, September 12, 2002
  19. ^ "CIA's final report: No WMD found in Iraq". NBC News. 25 April 2005. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
  20. ^ Ford, Dana (October 15, 2014). "Report: United States kept secret its chemical weapons finds in Iraq". CNN. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  21. ^ Chivers, CJ (14 October 2014). "The Secret Casualties of Iraq's Abandoned Chemical Weapons". New York Times. Retrieved 18 September 2019.

External links

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