CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY DAREN BOWYER JUST WAR DOCTRINE

levels of analysis will be used: the international, the national and the individual. Whilst
this provides a structure to the argument, it must be understood that in reality the levels
interact with one another and do not have distinct boundaries. If, for example, a
perception of injustice of a conflict at the individual level deters the recruiting or
retention of a nation’s reserve forces, this clearly impacts on policy at the national level,
which in turn nuances a nation’s ability to engage in alliances and coalitions at the
international. Such interaction is encapsulated by Michael Elliott in Time magazine:
As it becomes clear that there will not be a sudden influx of non-American
troops into Iraq, the Pentagon is having to extend the tours of duty there of
regular soldiers and reservists. Bush’s travails have invigorated the Democratic
Party; all the Democrats running for the White House make criticism of Bush’s
record in Iraq a part of their pitch. And although few are brave enough to say it,
other world leaders – most of whom opposed the war – can hardly hide their
sense that the Bush Administration is getting what it deserves. 114
2.3.1 Relevance at the International Level
Realists might argue that a nation needs no other justification than its own national
interests to engage in war and, moreover, should be constrained in its actions therein no
more than is necessary to ensure reciprocal restraint by the enemy. President George W
Bush’s ‘America will never seek a permission slip to defend the security of our country’
(see page93) is redolent of the first of these arguments. (Indeed first reports in The
Washington Post of his speech – perhaps produced from a pre-delivery press release –
used the term ‘interests of our country’). The refusal of both the Clinton and Bush
Administrations to sign the Ottawa Treaty banning Anti-Personnel Landmines, at least
hints at the second. Such a stance, even from a realist perspective, can only be taken
from a position of strength – indeed such a lack of concern for the views of other
nations was summed up by General BB Bell, Commander US Army Europe
(USAREUR) giving the Kermit Roosevelt Memorial Lecture at the UK Joint Services
Command and Staff College in 2003. Explaining US attitude to European concerns
over the war in Iraq, he argued that the US would prefer to have allies but if it could not
carry a consensus then ‘we don’t care’ – a phrase reiterated throughout both his
presentation and his response to questions.
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