Editing Bush Doctrine (section)

===Pre-emptive strikes===
Bush addressed cadets at the [[United States Military Academy|U.S. Military Academy]] in [[West Point, New York]] on June 1, 2002, and made clear the role preemptive war would play in the future of American foreign policy and national defense:<ref name="cadets01jun02">{{cite news |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/06/print/20020601-3.html |title=President Bush Delivers Graduation Speech at West Point |publisher=[[The White House]] |first=George W. |last=Bush |author-link=George W. Bush |date=June 1, 2002 |access-date=2008-09-19}}</ref>

{{quote|We cannot defend America and our friends by hoping for the best. We cannot put our faith in the word of tyrants, who solemnly sign non-proliferation treaties, and then systemically break them. If we wait for threats to fully materialize, we will have waited too long—Our security will require transforming the military you will lead—a military that must be ready to strike at a moment's notice in any dark corner of the world. And our security will require all Americans to be forward-looking and resolute, to be ready for preemptive action when necessary to defend our liberty and to defend our lives.}}

The stance of the Bush administration was that the harsh measures to spread the democracy worldwide are inevitable and efficacious, in which for instance, liberating Iraq would plant democracy in the area and enable it to flourish in the rest of the Middle East.<ref>Jervis, Robert (Fall, 2003). "Understanding the Bush Doctrine". The Academy of Political Science, ''Political Science Quarterly''</ref>

Two distinct schools of thought arose in the Bush administration regarding how to handle countries such as Iraq, [[Iran–United States relations during the G.W. Bush administration|Iran]], and [[North Korea]] (the so-called "[[axis of evil|Axis of Evil]]"<ref>{{cite news |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/01/29/bush.speech.txt/ |publisher=CNN |title=Bush State of the Union address |date=January 29, 2002 |access-date=April 27, 2010 |archive-date=March 23, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323160521/http://transcripts.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/01/29/bush.speech.txt/ }}</ref> states). [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] [[Colin Powell]] and [[National Security Advisor (United States)|National Security Advisor]] [[Condoleezza Rice]], as well as [[United States Department of State|U.S. Department of State]] specialists, argued for what was essentially the continuation of existing U.S. foreign policy. These policies, developed after the [[Cold War]], sought to establish a [[multilateralism|multilateral]] consensus for action (which would likely take the form of increasingly harsh sanctions against the problem states, summarized as the [[policy of containment]]). The opposing view, argued by Cheney, Rumsfeld, and a number of influential [[United States Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] policy makers like Wolfowitz and [[Richard Perle]], held that direct and unilateral action was both possible and justified and that the U.S. should embrace the opportunities for democracy and security offered by its position as sole remaining superpower.