The US Approach toward Islamic Militancy: Current Policies in Historical Perspective
Following the events of 9/11, the US declared a global war on terror and a new strategy based on preemption for defeating Muslim extremism and terrorism. However, the new US strategy so far has not been more successful than earlier strategies in combating either Muslim extremism or international terrorism. Arguably, it may even have contributed to the strengthening of the appeal of Islamic extremism and certain terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda. The principal reason for this lack of success has been the historically inconsistent and contradictory approach of the US to dealing with the problem of Muslim militancy and its manipulation of it for short-term objectives.
Crusades, Just Wars, and the Bush Doctrine
The Bush Doctrine has been described in various ways by Jonathan Monten, Francois Heisbourg, John Lewis Gaddis, Max Boot and Robert Jervis: as “democratic idealism,” as “democratic globalism,” and even as “messianic universalism.” The Bush Doctrine includes the following ideas: the war on terrorism is a clash of civilizations in which liberty and democracy are opposed to totalitarianism; preemptive wars are necessary because deterrence and retaliatory defense are inadequate to deal with terrorism and the ideology of “Islamo-fascism;” unilateral action by the United States is morally required because the U.S. is both a military and moral leader of the world; it is acceptable to fight wars that seek to spread liberal-democratic values because liberal democracies are peaceful and stable; and complete victory is the only acceptable outcome in the war on terrorism.
Cultural constraints on the delivery of HIV/AIDS prevention in Ireland.
HIV appeared in Ireland following an opiate epidemic in the early 1980s. Initially, however, the gay community mounted the only response to the spread of the virus while the implementation of early actions by the government was hampered by the constructions of the disease within Irish society. This paper considers the influence of the religious hierarchy in both the development of AIDS policy and in the shaping of public perceptions of the disease and those affected. A qualitative methodology is used to examine the role of such cultural constraints in an evaluation of the social context within which the prevention of HIV infection occurs. Three key issues pertinent to the policy context in Ireland are explored in depth. These are the role of the Catholic Church, the influences on health education programmes, particularly information giving, and the development of services and other interventions. These findings are discussed within the social and political contexts in which health policy is formulated.