BUSH'S LEGITIMIZATION OF THE WAR

BUSH'S LEGITIMIZATION OF THE WAR IN IRAQ (excerpts from the National Security Strategy of the USA):

"Traditional concepts of deterrence will not work against a terrorist enemy whose avowed tactics are wanton destruction and the targeting of innocents; whose so-called soldiers seek martyrdom in death and whose most potent protection is statelessness. The overlap between states that sponsor terror and those that pursue WMD compels us to action. For centuries, international law recognized that nations need not suffer an attack before they can lawfully take action to defend themselves against forces that present an imminent danger of attack. Legal scholars and international jurists often conditioned the legitimacy of preemption on the existence of an imminent threatómost often a visible mobilization of armies, navies, and air forces preparing to attack. We must adapt the concept of imminent threat to the capabilities and objectives of todayís adversaries. Rogue states and terrorists do not seek to attack us using conventional means. They know such attacks would fail. Instead, they rely on acts of terror and, potentially, the use of weapons of mass destructionóweapons that can be easily concealed, delivered covertly, and used without warnin [...] The United States has long maintained the option of preemptive actions to counter a sufficient threat to our national security. The greater the threat, the greater is the risk of inactionó and the more compelling the case for taking anticipatory action to defend ourselves, even if uncertainty remains as to the time and place of the enemyís attack. To forestall or prevent such hostile acts by our adversaries, the United States will, if necessary, act preemptively."