Posted on 02/18/2003 2:09:20 PM PST by FilmCutter
THE WAR BEHIND CLOSED DOORS PBS Airdate: Thursday, February 20, at 9 P.M., 60 minutes
As America teeters on the brink of war with Iraq, FRONTLINE takes viewers inside the key White House policy battles and discussions that have led the Bush administration to pursue the end of Saddam Hussein's regime.
In "The War Behind Closed Doors," airing Thursday, February 20, at 9 P.M. on PBS (check local listings), FRONTLINE reveals the internal political machinations and maneuvering that have led the White House to abandon a long-standing policy of containment of Iraq in favor of the more aggressive stance of launching preemptive strikes against Iraq or any nation or group believed to pose a threat to American security.
Through interviews with key administration officials, policy analysts, and observers, the one-hour documentary also exposes a long-running policy battle between two powerful Washington insiders: Secretary of State Colin Powell and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.
At the moment, observers say, Wolfowitz appears to be winning, as George W. Bush calls for military action to preemptively disarm Iraq, a move that many believe has become his administration's signature foreign policy stance.
"Bush is redefining not just his presidency, but kind of the foreign policy for the United States for the foreseeable future," says Washington Post staff writer Daniel Balz.
But the policy of preemption, which is now being referred to more and more frequently as the Bush Doctrine, hasn't always enjoyed such a favorable White House reception. In "The War Behind Closed Doors," FRONTLINE traces the policy's roots to a report prepared by Wolfowitz following the end of the Gulf War in 1991. Unhappy that the war had ended with Saddam Hussein still in power, a victory for the containment policy championed by Colin Powell, then serving as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Wolfowitz drafted a new policy, one that spelled out in no uncertain terms that the United States would "preempt" the use of nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons by any other nation, even in parts of the world "where our interests are otherwise not engaged."
When Wolfowitz's draft was leaked to the media, the first Bush White House was decidedly unhappy, insiders say. "I remember the day that appeared on the front page," says William Kristol, former chief of staff for Vice President Dan Quayle and now editor of The Weekly Standard. "It was clear there was unhappiness at the highest levels of the White House about this document."
The White House ordered the document rewritten to emphasize the administration's stated support for containment of Iraq. Some observers, however, say this support was based on a flawed analysis of the situation.
"The problem for the [first] Bush administration at this point in time is that their whole policy toward Iraq was predicated on a false assumption [that] Saddam wouldn't be in power," says former CIA analyst Ken Pollack, author of The Threatening Storm: The Case for Invading Iraq.
"The War Behind Closed Doors" recounts how Wolfowitz's policy document gathered dust for most of the 1990s, as the Clinton administration struggled to deal with Saddam Hussein?s defiance of U.S. and U.N. containment policies. The documentary also recounts how the election of George W. Bush renewed the containment vs. preemption battle, as Colin Powell ascended to secretary of state and Paul Wolfowitz assumed the number two position in the Defense Department.
The political stalemate, observers say, ended on September 11. "It does seem very clear that this [preemption] group seized upon the events of September eleventh to resurrect their policy of going after Saddam Hussein and a regime change in Iraq," Pollack says.
Through detailed interviews with key insiders, "The War Behind Closed Doors" recreates the policy battles and key decisions made in the days and weeks after September 11 up through the current push for military action against Iraq. The documentary also reveals how the containment and preemption factions continue to do battle, outlining the victories and defeats each side has tallied in the long march to war with Iraq.
I hope you watch.
That would be, uh, the Bush Doctrine: pre-emptive strikes...
Everyone, Filmcutter has worked on this and other Frontlines which are favorable to our side.
They should still be defunded though.
That said - since I paid for it, I'll watch it. 8-)
as the Clinton administration struggled to deal with Saddam Hussein’s defiance of U.S. and U.N. containment policies
“Struggled” as in “paid it no mind whatsoever.”
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