Bush Affirms Policy of "Preemptive" Attack

informedcomment: Bush reaffirmed Thursday his policy of willingness to strike first against states he considers enemies.

There is a real problem of definition here. If Bush means that he will strike at terrorists whom he has good reason to suspect of imminently carrying out an attack on the US, then that is in accord with the United Nations Charter. States can always engage in self-defense from imminent threat.

But if he means he can go around invading other countries because he doesn't like the looks of them--which is what he actually does seem to mean-- then that is a war crime both in US law and in international law.

You wonder if the Bushes will be able to vacation in Europe when he goes out of office, or if Pinochet's fate awaits George. Read more

db: Nobody is safe. Bush and friends are quite capable of cobbling together a story that would justify an attack on just about any country. The only [relatively] secure states are going to be, sadly, those with nukes.