Foreign Policy In Focus August 1, 2002, by Stephen Zunes [source]
The United States still appears determined to move forward with plans to engage in a large-scale military operation against Iraq to overthrow the regime of Saddam Hussein. In the international community, however, serious questions are being raised regarding its legality, its justification, its political implications, and the costs of the war itself. Such an invasion would constitute an important precedent, being the first test of the new doctrine articulated by President George W. Bush of “preemption,” which declares that the U.S. has the right to invade sovereign countries and overthrow their governments if they are seen as hostile to U.S. interests…