Preemptive Self-Defense in an Age of Weapons of Mass Destruction: Operation Iraqi Freedom
![handle is hein.journals/denilp33 and id is 160 raw text is: PREEMPTIVE SELF-DEFENSE IN AN AGE OF WEAPONS OF MASS
DESTRUCTION: OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM
CHARLES PIERSON*
Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof, the smoking
gun that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud.
President George W. Bush'
I. THE FIGHT OVER PREEMPTION
With the promulgation of the Bush Doctrine, President George W. Bush
announced a U.S. policy of preemptive action against terrorist states.2 President
Bush had previously identified Iraq, together with Iran and North Korea, as part of
an axis of evil bent on the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction (WMD).3
The Bush Administration asserted that the danger of WMD in the hands of Saddam
Hussein was so great that it justified a preemptive attack on Iraq before these
weapons could be developed and used.4
' J.D., Duquesne University School of Law, 1998. The author extends warm thanks to the following
who read and offered invaluable comments on drafts of this article: Samuel J. Astorino, Ph.D., J.D.,
Professor of Law, Duquesne University School of Law; Michla Pomerance, Emilio Von Hofmannstahl
Professor of International Law, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The author assumes sole
responsibility for the contents. This article is dedicated to the memory of my father, Charles Edward
Pierson, Sr. (1917-1994).
1. See Transcript: Confronting Iraq 'Is Crucial to Winning War on Terror, 'N.Y. TIMES, Oct. 8,
2002, at A12 (transcript of President Bush's October 7, 2002 speech in Cincinnati, Ohio) [hereinafter
Cincinnati Speech].
2. In a commencement address at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on June 1, 2002,
President Bush declared: We must take the battle to the enemy, disrupt his plans, and confront the
worst threats before they emerge. See Commencement Address at the United States Military Academy
in West Point, New York, 38 WEEKLY COMP. PRES. DOc. 944 (June 10, 2002), also available at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/ 2002106/20020601-3.html (June 1, 2002) (transcript)
(visited Oct. 4, 2004); David E. Sanger, Bush to Outline Doctrine of Striking Foes First, N.Y. TIMES,
Sept. 20, 2002, at Al. The Bush Doctrine, of which pre-emptive strikes are only one part, has received
its fullest exposition in the National Security Strategy released on September 17, 2002. See National
Security Strategy of the United States of America (September 17, 2002) [hereinafter National Security
Strategy], available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/nsc/nss.pdf (visited Oct. 4, 2004).
3. Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the State of the Union, 38 WEEKLY COMP.
PRES. Doc. 133 (Feb. 4, 2002), available at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020129-11 .html (visited Oct. 4, 2004)
[hereinafter President's 2002 State of the Union Address].
4. See David E. Sanger, Bush Sees 'Urgent Duty' to Pre-empt Attack by Iraq, N.Y. TIMES, Oct.
8, 2002, at Al; Judy Keen, Bush: U.S. Can't Await 'Final Proof' USA TODAY, Oct. 8, 2002, at IA;](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/denilp33&div=17&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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Preemptive Self-Defense in an Age of Weapons of Mass Destruction: Operation Iraqi Freedom
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