THE POWELL DOCTRINE
Background, Application and Critical Analysis
By Doug DuBrin, an English/History teacher and editor/ writer.

Overview:
After the end of Persian Gulf War in 1991, Colin Powell, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, outlined his vision for efficient and decisive military action. His plan is now referred to as the Powell Doctrine, although there is not an actual formal document named as such. Powell, currently the U.S. secretary of state, has recently invoked the Doctrine in articulating the justifications for the Bush administration's preparations for war in Iraq. Essentially, the Doctrine expresses that military action should be used only as a last resort and only if there is a clear risk to national security by the intended target; the force, when used, should be overwhelming and disproportionate to the force used by the enemy; there must be strong support for the campaign by the general public; and there must be a clear exit strategy from the conflict in which the military is engaged.

Powell based this strategy for warfare in part on the views held by his former boss in the Reagan administration, Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, and also on his own experience as a major in Vietnam. That protracted campaign, in Powell's view, was representative of a war in which public support was flimsy, the military objectives were not clear, overwhelming force was not used consistently, and an exit strategy was ill defined.

Materials:
1. Handout with key quotes attributed to Colin Powell and others.
2. News articles covering the daily military campaign.

Correlation to national standards

Procedure:
1. Introduction: First mention Colin Powell's role in the Persian Gulf War and now as the secretary of state. The former was as the chief military commander of the U.S. forces; the latter is as its chief diplomat. Then, you may wish to provide pertinent biographical information on Powell. Born in New York in 1937, he was raised in the South Bronx. He spent 35 years in the military and is a decorated Vietnam veteran. Politically, Powell is thought to be a moderate Republican, but he has been sought by both Republicans and Democrats alike to run for president. Powell also is the highest-ranking African American in U.S. political history.

Internationally, Powell is respected as an articulate, confident, and even-minded statesman. For the last several months he has been actively involved in an international diplomacy campaign that has required him to meet frequently with leaders and dignitaries from around the globe. (For more on Powell's background, read the transcript of this NewsHour discussion.)

2. Next, discuss with the class the tenets of the Powell Doctrine. Help them to see that the Doctrine was an outgrowth of U.S. involvement in previous military campaigns (such as Vietnam and Korea) that were ambivalent, tentative and poorly planned. The Persian Gulf War in 1991, as orchestrated by Powell himself, was a significant departure from those previously less-committed campaigns. The Persian Gulf War was indeed overwhelming, generally well supported by the public, and doubtlessly decisive.

2a. As an alternative, before providing any background material on the Powell Doctrine itself, distribute handout with quotes attributed to Powell (the first four). Then, in either small groups or individually, have the students closely study the quotes to determine what the primary philosophy and objective of the Doctrine is. The students themselves will be attempting to devise a definition for the Doctrine based on their analysis before they have actually been provided one.

3. After receiving sufficient background on the Doctrine, have the students analyze daily-news articles on the military undertaking to determine whether the Doctrine is actually being followed. Instruct them to determine whether the force being used is indeed overwhelming and if it reflects an overall commitment to success.

You may also have the students examine the daily news (print or broadcast) to determine whether the general public is supportive of the campaign and its objectives. Certainly, public sentiment may vacillate as the war progresses, and this can be determined by regular monitoring of the news coverage. Lastly, if the war does end relatively quickly, decide whether the exit strategy for the military, as Powell envisioned in his plan, is clear and decisive. (Keep in mind that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, not Secretary of State Powell, is in charge of the overall military strategy and operations.)

4. Map activities: In order to determine whether the Doctrine is being observed, have the students closely examine maps of the region that highlight the ongoing war strategy, bombing campaigns and troop deployments. Various maps can readily be found in daily newspaper coverage of the war as well as on most news Web sites.

5. For consideration: After the students have developed a solid foundation on the Doctrine, the following reinforcement and critical-thinking questions can be posed to the whole class, used for small-group discussions, or applied as research/writing prompts.

· What armed conflicts prior to the Powell Doctrine either reflected his philosophy on warfare (or contradicted it)? In other words, what historical precedents, besides Vietnam, perhaps helped formulate Powell's line of thinking?
· Is the Powell Doctrine ultimately a more humane way to conduct warfare, even though the use of force it entails is designed to be overwhelming and extraordinarily destructive?
· Once force is used, do you see it as feasible and/or realistic that the Powell Doctrine be followed? Do you foresee a decisive victory and a clear exit strategy?
· From what you have understood from the news, how much public support is there currently for the impending war?
· Do you see President Truman's decision to drop the atom bombs on Japan to end World War II as being aligned with the tenets of the Powell Doctrine?

6. Extension Ideas: The following quotes can be used to facilitate further discussion or as prompts for essay responses. Other activities may include

· having the students work in small groups to critically examine the meaning of each quote and then report back to class their findings, or
· posing to the class in regards to the quotes: Is there bias in the writing or speech? How much of the information is geared towards convincing the reader or listener to take a particular viewpoint? What particular language used by the writer/speaker indicates either bias or subjectivity?

QUOTES- printable handout

· Then Chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell, when asked about his military strategy against the Iraqi army in the Persian Gulf War of 1991:
"First we're going to cut it off, then we're going to kill it."

· Powell, from his speech "U.S. Forces: The Challenges Ahead":
"We owe it to the men and women who go in harm's way to make sure that this is always the case and that their lives are not squandered for unclear purposes."

· "We must not, for example, send military forces into a crisis with an unclear mission then cannot accomplish -such as we did when we sent the U.S. Marines into Lebanon in 1983. We inserted those proud warriors into the middle of a five-faction civil war complete with terrorists, hostage-takers, and a dozen spies in every camp, and said, 'Gentlemen, be a buffer.' The results were 241 Marines and Navy personnel killed and a U.S. withdrawal from the troubled area."

· Powell, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on January 17, 2001 (prior to 9/11), when asked about the Bush administration's plans for U.S international military involvement:
"Our armed forces are stretched rather thin and there is a limit to how many of these deployments we can sustain. So we are going to take a look at that, talk to our allies, consult and make on-the-ground assessments of what we are doing now, what is needed now, but also what is going to be needed in the future."

· Charles Krauthammer, Washington Post columnist:
"The Powell Doctrine found its ultimate expression in the Gulf War. The idea was not to match Iraqi power but to entirely overwhelm it in planes, tanks, technology, manpower and will. That would make the war short and make the victory certain. It did. Today, the Powell Doctrine seems obvious, but it was not at the time. For decades, the United States had followed a policy of proportionality: restraint because of the fear of escalation. It was under this theory that Maj. Powell watched his men bleed and die purposely in Vietnam."

· Ruth Rosen, San Francisco Chronicle columnist:
"The impending war in Iraq, however, arguably meets only one criterion of the Powell Doctrine. Weapons inspectors have just begun their work, which is why France, Russia, and China argue that war is not yet a last resort. Public support for a war in Iraq is hardly strong. In the most recent New York Times/CBS News poll, while a majority of Americans support the use of force as an option, 59 percent want to give the United Nations and weapons inspectors more time. The divided opinion reflects the lack of a well-defined national interest in going to war now. The Bush administration has tried to portray a pre-emptive war against as essential to the war on terrorism, but the evidence of the 'links' between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda is highly questionable."

Correlations to National Standards:

For detailed explanations, please consult
www.socialstudies.org/standards/teachers/vol1/home.shtml

Thematic Standards

Standard 6: Power, Authority, and Governance

Disciplinary Standards

Standard 2: Geography
Standard 3: Civics and Government

Works Cited:

Excerpts from "Colin Powell, 'U.S. Forces: The Challenges Ahead,'" Foreign Affairs Winter 1992 (qtd. in <http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/history/johnson/powell/htm>).

Krauthammer, Charles. "What Happened to the Powell Doctrine?" Washington Post 20 Apr. 2002.

Malone, Jim. "What will 'Powell Doctrine' foreign policy mean?" Journal of Aerospace and Defense Industry News 23 Jan. 2003 http://www.aerotechnews.com/starc/2001/012301/powell_doctrine.html.

"Powell Doctrine." Wikipedia <http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/PowellDoctrine>.

Rosen, Ruth. "Whatever Happened to the Powell Doctrine?" San Francisco Chronicle (qtd. in the History News Network 3 March 2003 http://hnn.us.articles/1290.html).

Author Doug DuBrin taught Social Studies and Literature at the Arizona School for the Arts for 4 years. Before that he taught at the Near North Montessori School and the Monroe Middle School in Rochester, NY. He has a BA from the University of Rochester and a MA from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

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