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Ralph Peters states ‘another valuable tool has been banished, for now, from our arsenal of concepts: pre-emptive attacks.’ ... International law recognizes the right of all states to self-defense and the legitimacy of pre-emptive attack. ... What international law does not accept and what the American people question is the concept of preventive war. ... In response to the relatively new threat of WMD, international law may need to evolve to include some sort of sliding scale that balances a threat’s likelihood against its lethality. However, it is hard to conceive of any calculus that could justify our attack on Iraq short of Mr. Peters’ concept that anytime we go to war it is justified because ‘We’re us. We represent freedom, decency and civilization.’ ”

— MICHAEL SHEWCHUK COMMENTS ON RALPH PETERS’ ARTICLE, “THE DAMAGE DONE,” MARCH AFJ (www.armedforcesjournal.com/2009/03/3922317)

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