Presidential Policymaking in Crisis Situations: 9/11 and Its Aftermath

Abstract

This paper compares the decision‐making approaches of two presidents, John F. Kennedy and George W. Bush, in relation to unanticipated international crises. One, President Kennedy, employed a broad body of expert opinion and entertained a wide range of options in meeting the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1963. The actions taken avoided a potential worldwide nuclear war. The other, George W. Bush, consulted only a few, like‐minded colleagues and appears to have decided early on that a war directed against Iraq and Saddam Hussein was a necessity. The administration's justifications for the war were difficult to prove and the administration chose an essentially bilateral (as against a multi‐lateral) approach. The Iraq War was won fairly easily, although its long‐range consequences remain unclear. The two styles of decision‐making present polarized approaches to international crisis situation management.