A modest proposal

Andrew Bacevich, career military man and self-avowed conservative, always seems to be on the money when he talks about foreign policy--and I'm speaking as a hard-core pinko pacifist.

Today, in the Boston Globe, Bacevich, who currently teaches at Boston University, makes some recommendations for a series of concrete proposals the Democrats can make to reverse the creepy, poorly thought-out, and murderous Bush Doctrine.

First, Bachevich brings us up to speed on just how big a grab Bush made when he declared a Doctrine in his own name:

Long viewed as immoral, illicit, and imprudent, preventive war -- attacking to keep an adversary from someday posing a danger -- became the centerpiece of US national security strategy in the aftermath of 9/11. President Bush unveiled this new strategy in a speech at West Point in June 2002. "If we wait for threats to fully materialize," he said, "we will have waited too long." The new imperative was to strike before threats could form. Bush declared it the policy of the United States to "impose preemptive, unilateral military force when and where it chooses."

Although the Constitution endows the legislative branch with the sole authority to declare war, the president did not consult Congress before announcing his new policy. He promulgated the Bush Doctrine by fiat. Then he acted on it.

Bacevich then proceeds to offer up some baby steps the Democratic-controlled Congress can take to at least begin to restore a semblance of sanity to U.S. foreign policy:

The fifth anniversary of President Bush's West Point speech approaches. Prior to that date, Democratic leaders should offer a binding resolution that makes the following three points: First, the United States categorically renounces preventive war. Second, the United States will henceforth consider armed force to be an instrument of last resort. Third, except in response to a direct attack on the United States, any future use of force will require prior Congressional authorization, as required by the Constitution.

The legislation should state plainly our determination to defend ourselves and our allies. But it should indicate no less plainly that the United States no longer claims the prerogative of using "preemptive, unilateral military force when and where it chooses."

Declaring the Bush Doctrine defunct will not solve the problems posed by Iraq, but it will reduce the likelihood that we will see more Iraqs in our future. By taking such action, Congress will restore its relevance, its badly tarnished honor, and its standing in the eyes of the American people.

I'm not thrilled with the bit about "stat[ing] plainly our determination to defend ourselves and our allies." Talk about a loophole you can drive an Abrams tank through.

But all the same I have to say I'm all for this sort of thing, and, given the unfortunate realities of mainstream U.S. politics, really think Bacevich would be a presidential candidate I could live with. Do I think his modest proposal has a ghost of a chance with the current Democratic Congress? Naaaaaaaahhhhh.