Bush Administration's Decision to Launch a Preventive War Against Iraq In March 2003



Bush Administration's Decision to Launch a Preventive War against Iraq in March 2003

Introduction

The invasion on Iraq took place in 2003 in accordance with the decision of Bush and his administration. Since the Vietnam War, this one was the largest, long lasting and expensive usage of the army by United States. This was the first major military action by the United States army after the Cold War apart from experiences on an international level and Unites Sate's first experience as a power to have occupied in a country of Middle East. The decision to invade was to an extent unprecedented, specifically the extensive involvement of the United States army in a Muslim and Arab country, the argument being that the invasion on Iraq can be understood using the theories established on causes of war.

Foreign Policy Analysis

The foreign policy of a country, also known as foreign relations policy is the state's self-chosen strategy that safeguards their national interest and for achieving aims within the international relation milieu. The methods of approaching are, employed in a strategic manner for interaction with other countries. Recently, because of the deep level of globalization and the activities done on a transnational level, the states interact with actors from non-states. Foreign policy analysis is an extension of political science, which deals with the development of theories and studies empirically the process and outcome of foreign policies.

From the perspective of a realist, the decision made by the government or the state take for war are the result of the participation of all states involuntarily for the eternal search and quest for security and gaining power due to the environment of international politics where every state has the fear of hostility from the rest of the states. Leaders in terms of the power of their state and the security rationally calculated cost and its benefits. The international behavior of states is a reflection of the barriers imposed on their behavior and movements by the relative power in position.

The shift from a bipolar two super power distributing power throughout the Cold War to the United States militaries dominance cause by the strategy of United States to be able to shift from policies of deterring or contamination of threat to the policy of preventive warfare's in opposition to states declared rogues. After the Soviet Union crumbled, unipolar dominance created benefits for the United States to emphasize less on collectively securing to relying more on its own heavy military.

Due to the unrivalled power of United States, according to the theory of realists United States leader were viewing the multilateral institutions as less help and more hindrance. The emphasis of realism on the continuity and inevitability of the competition of military and the war amongst the states that were sovereign gained credence from the reality that regardless of the change in leadership and even after its main rival collapsed, United States never diminished its army spending after ...