Reply #56: It's not really that complicated. [View All]

Most Americans -- Republican or Democrat -- either don't understand or don't accept the concept of "casus belli" -- that we need to be attacked first before a war is justified.

The idea that previous wars were fought "to end all wars" lasted a very short time, and then gradually Americans began to stop thinking of war as bad in and of itself. By this point in history, I think it's safe to say that the vast majority of Americans no longer agree with the Nuremberg principles, most especially with the principle that simply starting a war you could have avoided (i.e. before you were attacked) is an unforgiveable crime.

Any talk of the "threat" Saddam posed is for the benefit of those who might start considering us a threat if it were to become clear the big dog of the international community was rabid.