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BTL: U.S. First Strike Military Doctrine Draws Criticism That...

...Washington Believes Itself Exempt from International Law. Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Matthew Rothschild, editor of the Progressive Magazine.
U.S. First Strike Military Doctrine Draws Criticism That Washington Believes Itself Exempt from International Law

Interview by Between The Lines' Scott Harris

Speaking at commencement exercises at the West Point Military Academy on June 1, President Bush dismissed the Cold War doctrine of containment and deterrence as irrelevant and instead called for the U.S. to adopt a new first-strike military policy. Many observers regarded this pronouncement as part of a White House strategy to prepare the American public for a future U.S. war against Iraq, which is widely expected to be launched in the coming months. These changes are necessary, White House and Pentagon officials say, to destroy weapons of mass destruction held by nations which may in the future transfer them to terrorist groups.

This newly announced doctrine of pre-emptive armed intervention combined with Washington's unilateral abandonment of a number of important global treaties and conventions, has many diplomats from around the world persuaded that the U.S. has taken on the role of an arrogant empire to whom international law no longer applies. In recent years, the U.S. has rejected or abbrogated agreements that include the Kyoto convention on climate change, the Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty and the establishment of an International Criminal Court.

Between The Lines' Scott Harris spoke with Matthew Rothschild, editor of the Progressive Magazine, who assesses the Bush administration's first strike military doctrine and how the rest of the world now perceives the U.S. in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

That was Matthew Rothschild editor of the Progressive Magazine. Contact The Progressive by calling (608) 257-4626 or visit their Web site at www.theprogressive.org

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"Between the Lines," WPKN 89.5 FM's weekly radio news magazine can be
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© 2002 Between the Lines C/O WPKN Radio, Bridgeport, Connecticut USA.
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