Anticipating self-defence is not a pre-emptive strike

International law would not have required that the US should have waited until the bombs were falling on Hawaii!

So what did John Howard actually say? He said he was willing to launch an attack if:

• Somebody was about to launch an attack on Australia, either conventional or terrorist
• Australia had the capacity to stop it, and
• There was no alternative.

That this would fall clearly within The Caroline principle is beyond doubt. While it is not surprising that Dr Mahathir rushed in, why did spokespersons for some other governments join him presumably without checking what Howard said or reading their law books? Fortunately, the Thai and New Zealand Prime Ministers were more balanced and thoughtful, which Howard’s domestic critics may now ponder.