ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on how the Powell Doctrine was applied, misapplied or ignored in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. For the Neo-Conservatives the limitations of the Powell Doctrine were an unnecessary check on the use of American power. The basic position of Neo-Conservative thinkers is that America's military, political, economic and cultural power is a force for good in the world. The Neo-Conservative position argues that as a successful liberal democracy the United States carries the burden of spreading an enlightened economic and political system around the world. The Neo-Conservatives were not the only source of advice that candidate Bush was receiving. The Neo-Conservative narrative of national interest seemed initially to lend itself much more readily to the circumstances the United States found itself facing in the wake of September 11th. The Neo-Conservative view of national interest is not by itself enough to explain why the United States went to war in Iraq in March 2003.
