Morality?

While it has been U.S. policy to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, Russia, Britain, France, China, Israel and India had acquired them without serious retribution from the U.S. Yet Iran, Iraq and North Korea were put on notice that, if they tried to enter the circle of nations with nuclear weapons, they risked a preemptive strike and war.

"We are in a conflict between good and evil, and America will call evil by its name," President Bush said in a 2002 speech before West Point cadets.

What is the evil side of Iran, Iraq and North Korea? In Afghanistan, we were supported by Iran, Pakistan and a Northern Alliance led by warlords guilty of mass murder. In World War II, we were allied with Stalin; in the Gulf war with Assad; and in the Cold War with the Shah and General Pinochet.

"Moral truth is the same in every culture, in every time, in every place," the president said. We are one nation in a world of 190. Who gave us permission to define morality for all people for all time? America came out on top because moral clarity was put on hold. We lined up our allies without too-scrupulous an inspection of their humanitarian credentials. Were we acting immorally?