| Publication |
2006.
|
| Summary/Abstract |
Although both the Clinton and Bush administrations identified terrorism as a major national security threat, the Clinton administration focused on terrorism primarily as a law enforcement issue while the Bush administration approached terrorism as a military problem. This difference becomes readily apparent when the economic isolation, multilateral cooperation, resource allocation, and retaliation policies of both administrations are compared. Despite significant differences in their respective approaches to these policies, there has been a remarkable consistency in American counter-terrorism policy over the past decade. Fierce, partisan political debate has overshadowed these fundamental policy similarities. The development of American counter-terrorism policy after 9/11 was constrained by time factors as well as also institutional and political forces. Even in this, the most extreme challenge to American national security planning since the rise of the Cold War, bureaucratic institutions have proven themselves remarkably resilient.
|