Note: The test that is failed is the test of mutuality or a rule that gives both sides an equal right to use the rule as justification.
From: http://www.ecaar.org/Newsletter/Oct02/Galbraith.htm cheers, Ken Hanly The doctrine of pre-emptive self-defense, which is the right of one country to attack an adversary based on a subjective evaluation of capability and intent, fails this test. We, in the United States, cannot admit that it imparts an equal right to Iraq. Iraq clearly faces an imminent threat from a determined and capable adversary, the United States. We make no secret of this fact. Does President Bush concede to Saddam Hussein the right to detonate an atomic bomb - if he had one - in the Metro station at the Pentagon? And if Mr. Cheney were to observe this outcome tomorrow, from his secure and undisclosed location, on what grounds, given the views he has stated, could he legitimately object?