George W. Bush's First Term As President of The United States - Foreign Policy

Foreign Policy

Initial public perceptions of the Bush administration detected a lack of interest in foreign affairs. However, the Bush administration implemented a major change in U.S. foreign policy by withdrawing its participation in the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with Russia, in order to pursue a national missile defense strategy of its own. In June 2001, Bush gave a speech in Iowa touting missile defense as a sensible post-Cold War system. International leaders criticized Bush for withdrawing U.S. support for the International Criminal Court soon after he assumed the presidency. The administration had voiced concerns that the court could conceivably over-rule the authority of the United States' judicial system.

Although lauded by Republicans and conservatives, global public opinion was distrustful of any United States policy that reinforced its position as sole arbiter in world affairs. Bush publicly condemned Kim Jong-Il of North Korea and his Stalinist regime. Bush also undertook bold action by expressing U.S. support for the defense of Taiwan following its stand-off in March 2001 with the People's Republic of China over the crash of a Chinese air force jet and the detention of U.S. personnel. In 2003–04, Bush authorized U.S. military intervention in Haiti and Liberia to restore order and oversee a transition to democracy.