Weinberger Powell Doctrine
The Weinberger-Powell Doctrine or Powell Doctrine states that U.S. forces should only be used as a last resort. It should only be used when “interests of paramount importance for the security and viability of the USA are at stake”. Furthermore, the support of the broad American public must be ensured.
The interventions in Kosovo are described as a culmination in the process of the slow liberation of "American military doctrine" from the compulsion of the Weinberger-Powell doctrine.
The doctrine was named after the former US Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger (in office from January 21, 1981 - November 23, 1987 ) and the future Secretary of State Colin Powell , who was then a general of the US land forces.
The doctrine is the concept of efficient warfare developed by Colin Powell after the 2nd Gulf War in 1991.
In the main it can be summarized as follows:
- War is a last resort and will not be considered until all other options have been exhausted.
- War is only an option when the national security of the United States is in real danger.
- A sufficient base of public support must be guaranteed.
- When the war is waged, it is with an overwhelming superiority of troops and equipment to ensure a quick and low-loss victory.
- There must be a sensible strategy for withdrawing from the conflict (exit strategy).
One possible criticism of the doctrine would be that it would justify the appeasement policy prior to World War II. It is often seen as a logical consequence of the Vietnam War trauma and is rejected because it severely limits the government's options for action in the early stages of conflicts.
In March 2010, the Chairman of the United Chiefs of Staff of the American Armed Forces, Admiral Michael G. Mullen , spoke for the first time publicly of a change in American military strategy that deviated from the Powell Doctrine; It was no longer a matter of sending the armed forces into battle with overwhelming strength (although the former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had deviated from the Powell Doctrine during the 2003 invasion of Iraq , but the lack of initial success was generally due to deviating from the Powell Doctrine).
literature
- Peter Rudolf: Peacekeeping and Peace Enforcement : Military Interventions in American Foreign Policy , in: Peter Rudolf / Jürgen Wilzewski (ed.): World power without opponents - American foreign policy at the beginning of the 21st century , Baden-Baden 2000, pp. 297–334.
swell
- ↑ Departure from the Powell Doctrine. In: nzz.ch. March 4, 2010, accessed October 14, 2018 .