The Bush Doctrine is dead, long live the Bush doctrine!

Evan Wright
Class of 2020

As you probably know President Trump and President Bush haven’t always agreed, and when it comes to foreign policy, it seems to get even uglier. Trump has said that the Bush administration lied about the reasons to invade Iraq and called the war a costly failure for the U.S. Some have even said that Trump pressured members of his cabinet not to hire those within the Bush administration that opposed him during the general election. Bush, on the other hand, refused to endorse Trump in the general election a very strong message coming from a former Republican president. Many say that Trump has rejected the Bush Doctrine, an unofficial name for the foreign policy of the Bush administration, and has embarked upon a new course of American Isolationism and withdrawal from the world. However, I believe that Trump's foreign policy is such a break from the Bush Doctrine as most might think.

The Good the Bad and the Ugly is the name of one of the greatest western movies of all time. It's also three words many people use to describe the Bush Doctrine which one of these three they use depends on what foreign policy views they hold. The Bush doctrine sought to give America purpose after, as Bush puts it the  “decisive victory for the forces of freedom” in the Cold War. The Bush doctrine is comprised of the following principles which were set out in the 2002 September National Security Strategy published by the National Security Council.

1. America is an exceptional nation both in character and strength, should not use its exceptionalism for unilateral advantage but instead to create a balance of power that favors human freedom.
2. America ought to defend the balance through fighting terrorist and tyrants, preserve the balance by building good relations among the great powers but not being afraid to challenge these powers and extend the balance by encouraging free and open societies on all continents.
3. A belief that all free nations have the responsibility to actively fight terror and all nations that depend on international stability ought to help prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
4. Defending the nation is the first and fundamental commitment of the federal government.
5. To defeat the threat of terror, we must use all means available. The war to defeat terror is global and of uncertain duration and if needed America should act preemptively and unilaterally in defeating enemies.
6. That freed trade is undeniably a positive force in the world, and the United States should build a world with more free trade.
7. That the United States is committed to multilateral institutions and also committed to strengthening those institutions.
8. That America should devote more to developmental assistance to others.

Trump has been accused of having a radical and dangerous new foreign policy, the same accusations some threw at Bush. Many have accused Trump of abandoning nearly all of the Bush doctrine embarking upon a journey of isolationism and withdrawal instead of a journey of projection of American strength and action abroad. I say that we ought to take a holistic look at Trump's foreign policy to see how much Trump's foreign policy diverges or aligns with the Bush doctrine. With special attention paid to his August 15^th, 2016 foreign policy speech at Youngstown State University, the foreign policy vision set out in his inaugural address and the actions he has taken at the beginning of his presidency.

1. Trump concurs with the Bush doctrines and has continued to support the idea that America is an exceptional nation. The question is what he believes America should do with that exceptional strength and character. Trump differs with Bush who believes we shouldn't act for unilateral gain as Trump complained America did not keep Iraqi oil in his August 15^th speech. Finally the answer to the question of rather he agrees that our exceptionalism should be used to create a balance of power in favor to freedom. Lies on rather Bush felt that the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan did, or did not, achieve a balance of power in favor of freedom.
2. Trump, like Bush, believes that we ought to fight terror going as far to say that he’ll "wipe them off the face of the earth." However, he does not think that America should fight tyrants which he sees, in many cases, as leaders who prevent disorder and terror. Trump has followed the principle of preserving the balance by seeking good relations with other great powers. He has praised Russia for their actions in the fight against terror in the middle east and invited the president of China to Mar-a-largo to have discussions on a range of different topics including pressuring them to encourage North Korea to give up nuclear capability. However, he didn’t shy away from launching an airstrike against Syria, a strong ally of Russia, or calling for trade restrictions to imposed on China. Finally, it seems as if he also supports extending freedom across the world with slight reservations about the imposition of freedom. He states that his administration will "be a friend to all moderate Muslim reformers" and that they will "amplify their voice" on the other hand he has qualified this support with saying "do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone" but rather to "let it shine as an example to follow."
3. Trump aligns with the Bush Doctrine, in the belief that Americas first and most important commitment is to defend its citizens. He recognized this most evidently in his inaugural address when he said that the government purpose is” to serve its citizens.”
4. Trump has recognized, as Bush had, that it is the global responsibility of free nations to fight terror. He has called upon American allies in the middle east as well as NATO allies and even Russia to help in the fight against ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and Hamas. He shares the same policy when it comes to the prevention of nuclear proliferation. Calling on China to pressure North Korea to abandon its nuclear program and calling on Iran to give up any capability to pursue nuclear weapons.
5. Trump has reaffirmed the Bush Doctrine principle of using all methods available to defeat terror. He has called for using security council resolutions along with physical, cyber, financial and ideological warfare to defeat terror as well as using immigration policy and domestic law enforcement to defeat terror.  Trump has not been hesitant to use unilateral force a prime example has been the strike on the Syrian air force base and has expressed that he won’t rule out using preemptive force especially in North Korea.
6. Trump has not wholeheartedly endorsed free trade as Bush did, he believes that in many cases free trade entails that we are shipping our jobs overseas, decreasing our wealth while increasing the wealth of other nations. He's called NAFTA the worst trade deal ever and has killed negotiations for TPP. He has threatened to impose trade restrictions on China due to their unfair trade practices which if imposed will make trade less free. However, the threat of trade restrictions may encourage China to stop some of their most unfair trade practices making trade more free in the long run. Trump seems to have taken a middle ground not opposed to free trade but rather trying to use it as leverage to force other nations to compete fairly.
7. Trump has had a mixed relationship with multilateral institutions especially NATO. He has sharply criticized NATO because of his belief that America propped up the organization and that other nations were not contributing a fair amount.  He has consequently called for other members to contribute more to the organization. Only time will tell if other member heeds his call and pick up their slack, but the main point is that he is attempting to strengthen it.
8. Trump has stood opposed to the idea of increasing developmental assistance and has cut multiple programs.  He has viewed them as taking away wealth from American citizens to subsidize citizens of foreign nations. However, he has kept Bush’s most noteworthy program of AIDs prevention and many other developmental aid programs.

So we can see Trump's foreign policy is not much of a break from the Bush doctrine as many might have liked to think. I believe his actions have shown that his foreign policy is not radical or new. He has instead built upon established doctrine set out by Bush and has only added a greater emphasis on national interest. We are not witnessing the end of the Bush Doctrine but rather an evolution of the Bush Doctrine. The Bush Doctrine is dead, long live the Bush Doctrine.

Evan Wright, of Louisville, Ky., is a freshman McConnell Scholar studying political science and finance.