Hamlet of nations

There is much fuss about the fact that the Bush administration, in its newly released national security strategy, sticks to the possibility of preemptive strikes, the famous Bush-doctrine, although its first application to the case of Iraq, has proved to be a 'disaster'.

It now appears that the Bush-doctrine is not really an invention of the post-9/11 world. In fact, its foundations can be traced back to a speech by George P. Schultz, former Secretary of State in the Reagan administration, on 25 October 1984.

You have read that right: that speech was delivered 21 years ago, one month after a terrorist attack on the US embassy in Beirut killed 14 people, including 2 Americans. It seems that the world has changed a long time ago, but that it took the West (well, some Westerners) a few decades to notice and finally act accordingly.

Just read Tigerhawk's post about this speech, which, I repeat, is not a day, but a couple of decades old (the title of my post will also become clear then).

(hat tip: American Future)