by Charles Reece

Well, now the military genius and geopolitical strategist par excellence we elected to be our president has decided that the time-tested strategies of containment and deterrence are obsolete and inoperative.

From now on, guys and gals, the word is pre-emption. The president told the graduating class at West Point that henceforth the United States will strike first. Any future "Pearl Harbors" will be our doing. Looks like we can look forward to several "days that will live in infamy," only this time we will be the bad guys. If there are enough of these surprise attacks, Congress will have to choose a Monday for a holiday that we can call Infamy Day.

So, rest of the world, you're on notice: Anytime any of you even think about doing something that the president decides (based on faultless intelligence, of course) poses a future threat to the United States, never look up with your mouth open. You might get a bomb down your throat.

The Bush family seems awfully fond of bombing people. It must run in the family. I'm glad Florida doesn't have an Air Force, or else Gov. Jeb Bush might have attacked the Bahamas - though I should add that Jeb seems to be the sensible brother.

But let's review now: One, we are in a global war, although the war looks like a one-person marriage at the moment; two, the rest of the world is on notice that they are either with us or against us (neutrality has no place in the Bush Doctrine); three, the rest of the world is also on notice that we might use nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear country; and four, now the rest of the world is on notice that we will strike without warning, even against nations that think they are at peace with us.

I'm worried about the Little Caesar in the White House. I've noticed that he seems to march, rather than stroll or walk. He delivers his speeches as if they were to a hostile audience. The other day, he got greatly annoyed because an American reporter spoke to the president of France in French in France. That drew a sarcastic, albeit nonsensical, wisecrack from Bush. And now, by God, we've learned that he took the Lord's name in vain after discovering he was making a speech into a dead telephone line.

He needs a vacation. He's so uptight, I'm almost nostalgic for that video of Bill Clinton with no shirt on, a big cigar in his mouth, a crazed grin on face, beating on bongo drums and dancing around a hotel room in Africa. Yeah, I know Clinton used American missiles as a distraction, but at least he almost never hit anybody with them. We've already killed more civilians in Afghanistan than we lost on Sept. 11. The Bush bombers don't mess around.

Nevertheless, the president's belligerent policy could become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you keep telling another country that you're going to destroy it, no matter what, it might decide to give you a reason.

Bush disdains discussions and prefers to speak in ultimata. He rejected a goodwill gesture on the part of Iraq (handing over a terrorist we claim to want very badly) apparently just so Iraq wouldn't get credit for a goodwill gesture. That's crazy. It's also bad policy. While I personally don't give a hoot what he does or what happens, I don't want to see him mess up the future my grandchildren have to live in. Damn these warmongering politicians anyway.