&gt; I found this sentence interesting -- I&#x27;ve been under the impression for some time that preemptive war is not necessarily a traditional doctrine, at least in America<p>I&#x27;m not certain what exactly &#x27;preemptive war&#x27; is supposed to be, either than war undertaken in order to preempt a worse possibility (which would seem to be the traditional doctrine for going to war in general).<p>America&#x27;s first war, the Quasi-War with France, could be seen as a kind of pre-emptive war in order to prevent further seizures of our ships, which was seen as worse than the war itself.<p>The First Barbary War was waged in order to prevent the Barbary Pirates (of Tunis, Tripoli &amp; Algiers) from seizing &amp; enslaving our merchant sailors. It should stand to reason that war was considered preferable to continued enslavement of American citizens.<p>The War of 1812, of course, was waged in response to certain British provocations whose continuation was considered worse than war.<p>The Second Barbary War was again waged in order to prevent the Barbary Pirates from seizing &amp; enslaving our sailors.