Powell Doctrine

The "Powell Doctrine" is a journalist-created term, named after General Colin Powell in the run-up to the 1990–91 Gulf War. It is based in large part on the Weinberger Doctrine, devised by Caspar Weinberger, former Secretary of Defense and Powell's former boss. The doctrine emphasizes U.S. national security interests, overwhelming strike capabilities with an emphasis on ground forces, and widespread public support.

The Powell Doctrine states that a list of questions all have to be answered affirmatively before military action is taken by the United States:

As Powell said in an April 1, 2009 interview on The Rachel Maddow Show, the Doctrine denotes the exhausting of all "political, economic, and diplomatic means", which, only if those means prove to be futile, should a nation resort to military force. Powell has expanded upon the Doctrine, asserting that when a nation is engaging in war, every resource and tool should be used to achieve decisive force against the enemy, minimizing U.S. casualties and ending the conflict quickly by forcing the weaker force to capitulate.

The Powell Doctrine has been reported as emerging legacy from Korean and Vietnam and the "Never Again vs. Limited War" policy debates (either win or don't start versus value of limited war) and Weinberger's Six Tests described in his 1984 speech "The Uses of Military Power". Political scientist Robert Farley has criticised the Powell doctrine on the grounds that it is "an effort by the uniformed military to restrict the policymaking freedom of civilians". It has been used to compare the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, and the Iraq War.

The Doctrine has been noted as not fully applicable for policy in conflicts that are humanitarian intervention, war of choice, protracted counter-insurgency or anti-terrorism, and where the criteria are subjective or open to differing interpretations.

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