Somerset Area
High School
Somerset Pennsylvania
Teacher: Dr. William
Simmons
Prevention or
Preemption
By Megann Sheftic
Prevention or preemption is a large topic to discuss. Many ideas need to be taken into consideration when deciding to act on threats. Basic liberties are a great place to start. I don’t feel that thousands of men and women should die because the President feels [it is] necessary.
Yes September eleventh was a tragedy and many men women and children died for no reason, but … that should have been prevented. Everyone is born with the right to live. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are natural rights. By going to war, the President is forcing a person to give up these natural rights. How can anyone’s pursuit of happiness be to travel thousands of miles away from home and risk dying in the process?
We need to be a country that is willing to fight for its rights and safety, but hold back in fighting when it comes to personal preferences with Saddam Hussein. I understand that President George Bush Sr. didn’t take care of Saddam in the nineties, but that does not mean his son has to finish him off in two thousand and four.
Maybe what it all comes down to is President Bush is making decisions [based] on his own judgment. He needs to take into consideration other’s ideas and suggestions dealing with the matter at hand. Iraq is a big problem. It does not have to be as big as it is now. Nearly every television station is focused on the war. Iraq is all that is ever discussed. In some aspects this whole ordeal has been blown way out of proportion. Dateline and Twenty Twenty [TV news programs] have a new story to air every week. It seems as if nothing else happens in this country, or to some people nothing else is important.
In my opinion many other things are just as important. Teenagers across the country are soon making a transition from home to the real world. This is supposed to be the greatest time of any high school graduates life, and its not. Moving on is completely blinded by the fact that we are at war. If President Bush concentrated the tax payers money on education and health care instead of spending billions upon billions on some blown up buildings in the desert, this country could far [ex]ceed [the nation’s current] expectations for the next generation.
Right now it is a little too late to discuss what President Bush should and should not have done. We are at war and there is no turning back. [It would have been a sign of] weakness … if we were to back out of Iraq without finishing what was started. To me, that is the one major mistake President Bush Sr. made. He should have finished off Saddam in the nineties; maybe then we would not be at war with him again.
Even though it is too late to change what has been started, no one should just accept what is going on. This country is run on the power of the people. Voting is a privilege, not just a right. If more people would take advantage of this privilege, decisions would not be left up to President Bush to decide on his own. We voted him into [office] and we have to make the best of it.
President Bush should want to make friends instead of enemies. We can not go around acting as if we are bulletproof, September eleventh proved otherwise. Growing up in this nation never caused me to fear anything. I always felt as if anything were to happen it wouldn’t happen here. Living ten miles from the flight ninety-three crash site caused me to change my mind. We are not as strong as we need to be. I do have to say that as a nation we recovered greatly and our true colors showed as we united together as one.
Whether we are attacked again or not, I feel that different actions could be taken. It shouldn’t take as long as it has for this nation to finally finish its job. Saddam is in custody and hopefully never leaves alive. Either way we have to have better means of detecting terrorist attacks. No one should live in fear. Life needs to return to the way it used to be when everyone carried pretty little flowers and sang happy tunes in their heads. I'm not sure if that is at all possible but we have to start somewhere.
The preemption doctrine has many pros and cons. Deciphering them is in the hands of the beholder. My opinion is that there needs to be a method of deterring terrorism at all costs. Iraq does not need to be made as a precedent for other countries. Yes they house terrorist cells but I’m sure many other countries slip through our fingers, and that should not happen.
Questions
Prime Minister Tony Blair's Speech
Q1-What does the Prime Minister mean by "politics of globalization"? He wants to use the "power of community" to do what?
-Prime
Minister Blair meant that normally people want to protect against a unitary form
of action. Each country has to go about its business in its own way to function
regularly. By using the power of community the fact that each nation works in
its own self interest will show.
Greaves Whitney
Q 2- Greaves Whitney singles out three Democratic presidents in his article. Name them and explain why they are mentioned.
- John F.
Kennedy, he was mentioned because of his involvement in the Cuban missile
crisis. His reaction was that no country can stand the threats placed upon
them. Bill Clinton was mentioned regarding his seventy hour bombing campaign
against Saddam Hussein. FDR was mentioned because of his statement regarding
another’s actions.
Excerpt from November 8, 2003 Issue of the Economist
Q 3- Alexis de Tocqueville was mentioned in the Economist article. Name three qualities de Tocqueville found exceptional about Americans.
-It’s
vociferous democracy, its decentralization, and its liking for voluntary
associations.
Q 4- Will it be better for the world if America succeeds in bringing stability, prosperity and even democracy to Iraq, or if it fails?
- In the long
run bringing these qualities to Iraq will benefit the world. Iraq trades with
many countries and by possessing ideas such as stability and prosperity
relations will be changed for the best.
Q 5- Is it
American competence that is feared, or incompetence?
Competence
Q 6- If
America were to withdraw hastily from Iraq, under the pressure of attacks, would
that be a sign of humility or a devastatingly irresponsible act?
-Devastatingly irresponsible act because the Americans cannot leave a job
unfinished. When the war started it started for a purpose and that purpose must
be carried out.
Q 7- What
is it about America that the writer claims is likely to make it even stronger in
the future?
-The combination of demographic vitality and productivity-led economy.
Congressional Record
Q 8- Name
three U.S. Senators who expressed concern about expanding the doctrine of
preemption.
-Byrd, Feingold, Hagel
Q 9- State Senator Feingold's definition of preemption and
prevention. How does he describe the difference between the two? Do you agree
with the Senator? Explain.
-Preemption is knowing that an enemy plans an attack and not waiting to
defend oneself. Prevention is believing that another may possibly someday
attack, or may desire to attack, and justifying the immediate use of force on
those grounds. The difference shows that whichever method a person follows is
their own conscience telling them what to do. Yes I agree with Senator Feingold.
Q 10- In
your opinion, would the world in which the most powerful countries engage in
preemption be a safer world? Explain.
-Yes because a country can not function in fear. There have to be methods
in place that take action when need be. Flying by the seat of your pants is not
an option.
Q 11- In
your opinion, would such a world be one in which our national values would
thrive?
-Yes
Q 13-
Discuss three reasons to favor the doctrine of preemption.
-The United States has only used military force when we can do some good, to
take initiative on threats, and if need be war must happen.
Q 14- Who
said "The trust and the temptation are too great for any one man."? What was the
context?
-Madison, that the president shouldn’t have everything put on his shoulders,
he should be helped as much as possible.
Q 15-
Senator Byrd voiced a great many concerns regarding preemption. Name six
concerns that you share with the Senator.
Hope that the president will continue to work until he gets a solid
collation together.
That we are questioning the constitutional authority to declare war.
That the people of America are being cheated.
That we need to focus on problems in America not ones that are several thousand miles away.
That congress is being pressured to do things that aren’t what the people of this country want.
Military forces are being over used.