Bush’s so-called pre-emptive war policy is a return to Stone Age barbarism. The world had advanced, with carefully thought out rules and regulations of when a nation is justified in conducting war. Thoughtful peace loving and intelligent men and women had recognized that every nation should follow certain logical rules and regulations pertaining to the conduct of war, understanding that especially in the atomic and nuclear age, some madman might start the war that could end the world.

If Adolf Hitler had at his disposal the weapons systems that the U.S. and Russia have had for years, the world could have ended with Hitler’s insane policies in place. The Nazi war machine was working vigilantly to develop these dangerous and deadly weapons of mass destruction, but the allies dealt the knockout blow to Hitler’s mad designs on World Empire just in time.

Treaties with other nations sought to control these threatening weapons. If deployed they could plunge the world into the most devastating war, not just to end all wars, but to destroy civilization as we know it.

The best minds, minds of men and women who are well educated and have demonstrated their brain power in the discipline of higher education at outstanding colleges, with talented, and deep thinking professors guiding them, are the kind of people any nation needs. The great leaders of the founding of the United States were outstanding scholars, men of wisdom and vision.

With the advent of television the United States degenerated into a nation voting on the basis of “emotion”, not on that of selecting a highly qualified candidate. While Ronald Reagan had honed his speaking ability on radio, TV and in films, he lacked the qualifications to be the deep thinker required to become one of the great presidents in U.S. history. There is no doubt that he made a good appearance and that he could give any political rival a good run when appearing in a televised debate. But there is also no doubt that some of the most tragic political and economic decisions were made during the Reagan Administration.

The Afghanistan War was motivated by the desire to place oil pipelines across Afghanistan to the Mediterranean, where ships could carry oil all over the world. To accomplish this, one of the most backward religious organizations was put in power, the Taliban. Women were forced to wear clothes that sometimes concealed everything but their eyes. Women were removed from almost every kind of employment and not allowed to attend school.

It is one thing to want to fight the Russians, as we did in Afghanistan, and quite another to do all this to obtain oil. When the Taliban made sweeping changes in society the treasured pipelines were not guarded sufficiently by the Afghanistan warlords. Rather than allowing our military to do the job, it was outsourced to warlords. They failed to reel in the mastermind of the 9-11 terrorist destruction of the World Trade Center.

Under Reagan’s watch, Republicans conveniently ignored the Iran-Contra Scandal when the U.S. and Israel were caught sending war materials to Iran, when U.S. law forbade it. Republicans ignored the Savings and Loan Scandal, costing taxpayers billions, but eventually Ronald Reagan had a Washington airport named after him.

How on earth can any thinking mind connect Saddam to the 9-11 tragedy? This conclusion defies logic. The Bush Administration, instead of focusing on former C.I.A. informant Osama bin Laden, diverted attention to Saddam Hussein amid a passion to invade Iraq. Weapons inspectors found no weapons, while Saddam disposed of missiles to comply with U.S. demands. Not one shred of proof existed supporting Bush’s rush to war, advanced to avoid the cataclysmic result of a “giant mushroom cloud” over America.

We went to war on a series of lies and forged documents read dramatically by Colin Powell at the UN. Greedy Iraqi businessman Ahmed Chalibi provided false information and insisted that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. The infamous Bush Doctrine calling for pre-emptive strikes was invoked and Iraq was attacked.

While actual pre-emptive war is justified under international law through its link to the national right of self-defense, what is forbidden under the United Nations and Nuremberg charters, to which the United States is a signatory, is preventive war. When Bush launched his invasion of Iraq he engaged in preventive rather than pre-emptive war.

According to eminent British historian Edward Crankshaw, as enunciated in his memorable book Gestapo, fear is the most powerful propaganda tool. This is what enabled Hitler to achieve power in Germany. The Nazis fabricated a border incident with Poland, which Hitler used to launch an attack.

The idea of invading Iraq was discussed by the Bush Administration long before 9-11. When 9-11 erupted it provided the perfect excuse to strike fear into the hearts of the American people and prepare them for war. The Bush Doctrine was developed and the nation rushed to war in Iraq. A weak-spined Congress was influenced to support Bush’s war effort, just as it had been cajoled into passing the Patriot Act following the tragedy of 9-11 without debating or even reading the controversial legislation.

When the repeated fear of a “giant mushroom cloud” hanging over America was proven false, Bush did not summon the requisite decency to apologize. Instead he declared with arrogant self-righteousness, “I would have invaded Iraq even if there had been no weapons of mass destruction.”

Was this the foolish comment of an unwise man unfit to claim any true leadership skills? Was he arrogantly covering up his own mistake? Or did this White House resident think that the rules of international warfare had been changed just for him?

The rush to war resulted in a $200 billion current charge to American taxpayers and still counting. We now have over 1,100 American dead with over 8,000 injured. Meanwhile hatred grows for America throughout the Arab world. Recent polls reveal that only 5 percent of Arabs have any respect for the United States.

As the world looks upon the repeated declarations of this White House resident with shock, prudent observers on the world scene recognize the ominous potential for outbreak of war throughout the world under a jingoistic, dogmatically self-righteous Bush, who claims to be receiving messages directly from God and is supported by neoconservatives eager to spread the Bush Doctrine.

If other nations were to follow Bush’s policy of rushing to war without proof that another nation is preparing to strike, ensuing wars could be endless on a precedent set by George Bush. The Geneva Conventions have been ignored, particularly in the prisons of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, where prisoners have been tortured and held without legal representation.

The Republican mantra Bush is running on, “Aren’t we safer now?” is running out of steam. The saddest sight of all is to see Republican robots cheering Bush, apparently not realizing that they are voting to propel the United States toward eventual destruction. This will occur if the dangerously irresponsible Bush Doctrine is continually applied. In other words, Bush’s irresponsibly dangerous thinking can bring about nuclear suicide for everyone.