America's way of war is very different from that of other Western countries

A still more fundamental obstacle is the religious and ethnic divisions that bedevil this arbitrarily created state. Moreover, the establishment of an American satrap in the midst of an Arab Islamic region would stir up widespread resentment and violence.

It is clear that the father was wiser than the son. The father, however, did not have to deal with American nationalism. He was responding not to an attack on American citizens or American soil but to an attack on a distant ally. The experience of Vietnam was still in the background.

The most dangerous element in this American threat against Iraq is not the threat itself but the new doctrine which underpins and legitimises it, that is the so-called doctrine of pre-emption. Under this doctrine America asserts a right to judge the intent of other countries and on that basis to launch a first strike against a perceived enemy.

This doctrine defies Western tradition. In the past only rogue states have acted on this principle. Indeed, even Hitler felt it necessary to justify his invasion of Poland in 1939 by pretending to be provoked by a Polish attack. The acceptance of this new approach to war opens the way for other countries to act similarly and contributes to international anarchy.

The nationalist feelings aroused by September 11 make it difficult for Americans to take issue with their President. However, it is heartening to note that, either directly or indirectly, a number of distinguished and representative Americans, including not only former Democratic President Jimmy Carter and Vice-President Al Gore but also former Republican office-holders, have protested against the unilateral pre-emptive doctrine. This product of the latest "ism" to control American foreign policy is an alarming extension of the hubris of the global "hyper-power" or "l'hyper-puissance", as the French Foreign Minister has dubbed post-Cold War America.

The comic strip Superman, an American creation, is not a proper model for international behaviour. America, if it is to act with an intelligent moral sensibility, has to learn to live with the tensions of a world shaped by historical contingency.