The Necessity of Preemptive Military Action

Abstract

Preemption is defined as: ?to seize before anyone else can, excluding others; appropriate.?1 Preemptive military action deals with stopping an imminent enemy attack. The idea of preempting an attack on U.S. citizens or interests is a logical concept, yet when President George W. Bush first discussed the need for preemptive action in a speech at West Point on June of 2002 the idea has been controversial and has since been known as the Bush Doctrine. Preemptive action is more than military strikes. It also includes financial and diplomatic measures. One possible financial action includes freezing the economic assets of known terrorist organizations. Working with the United Nations to impose sanctions is one possible diplomatic measure. The bottom line is the need to take action before a threat can take action. Preemptive action is nothing more than taking the initiative, taking action rather than waiting for the enemy to strike.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 2005
Accession Number
ADA510565

Entities

People

  • R. D. Zant

Organizations

  • Marine Corps University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Biological Weapons
  • Doctrine
  • International Organizations
  • Marine Corps
  • Military Strategy
  • National Security
  • Nato
  • New York
  • Nuclear Bombs
  • Nuclear Weapons
  • Security
  • Terrorists
  • Unconventional Warfare
  • United Nations
  • United States
  • Warfare
  • Weapons Of Mass Destruction

Readers

  • Strategic Security Studies