The driving motivation behind a new U.S. endeavor in Iraq should be modernizing the Arab world. Most Arabs will see such an expedition as an imperial reach into their world. But in this case a reforming foreign power's guidelines offer a better way than the region's age-old prohibitions defects phobias. No apologies ought to be made for America's "unilateralism."

President Bush's case for war on Iraq overlooks a very real danger: if pushed to the wall Saddam Hussein may resort to using weapons of mass destruction against the United States. Such a strike may not be likely or may not succeed but attacking Saddam is the best way to guarantee that it will happen. Washington has done far too little to prepare for it