What is the Bush doctrine of preemptive strike?
In a major speech in June 2002 at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and in a strategy paper released in December 2002, Bush and his administration claimed the right to use preemptive military force against countries or terrorist groups deemed “close” to acquiring weapons of mass destruction or long-range missiles, and stated that the U.S. would “respond with overwhelming force” with “all options” – code for using nuclear weapons – to any use of chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons against the U.S., its troops or its allies. Such threats of using nuclear weapons – in specific violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, which prohibits the use of nuclear weapons against any non-nuclear state – represent a significant escalation of U.S. military domination. This reflects a parallel call in the strategy documents for a new approach to military engagement in which the U.S. would prevent any nation, anywhere in the world, from even attempting to match U.S. mil
