"Which is why we are continuously diplomatically massaging them
(Powell just visited both, and cross-border hostilities have recently
lessened). "
That's not quite what was referring to. I'm sure the US has done excellent work in seeking to mediate, as have a number of other states. My point was simply that pre-emptive defence is a right that anyone can lay claim to, and which is likely to have a very large number of repercussions that are not intended by the US. You have written in the past that the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in a number of states was a blowback resulting from the policy pursued against the Soviets; can you be certain that the same will not happen through the current actions?
Without a framework of international law any state lacking America's military power would be in a precarious situation; if threatened it would have to rely on the US for protection, which, on past form, the US would refuse to provide unless its own interests were threatened.
---- This message was posted by kharin to the Virus 2002 board on Church of Virus BBS. <http://virus.lucifer.com/bbs/index.php?board=51;action=display;threadid=25860>
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