ABSTRACT

Introduction On 21 January 2001 George W. Bush was inaugurated as President of the United States. It soon became clear that the new administration was going to take a tough stand on two foreign policy issues: missile defence and ‘rogue’ states. It was also obvious that the Clinton administration’s Iraq policy was going to be reviewed. Many in the Bush administration considered containment a failure. The regular and consistent criticism of Clinton’s Iraq policy from residents of conservative think-tanks that were appointed to the new administration suggested that the Bush administration would replace Clinton’s Iraq policy with a much more overt and forceful strategy of regime change.