Taking a page out of the Bush, Republican, Neo-Con playbook, the Israeli's have begun a pre-emptive war with Lebanon and Palestine. Israel has perceived the possibility of a future threat to themselves and have responded with the true Republican, Neo-Con approach - Bomb them into the stone age so they will not ever be able to become the threat they are perceived to be. Since the idea of pre-emptive war is becomming more popular in the world today and since any country can perceive a threat from any other country at anytime, the Bush/Neo-Con/Republican strategy of pre-emptive war can only serve to destabilize the world as we know it.
There are reasons why there are international laws, treaties, and agreements. Most of these are to avoid one country going off the deep end and attacking another country. Another is to provide a framework for the conduct of countries who are at war. The Bush Administration has set an extremely poor example for the rest of the world by their embracing the concept of pre-emptive war. We are now seeing the consequences of that poor example by its being copied by Israel. How long will it be for other countries to take the concept of pre-emptive war and use it as an excuse to attack their neighbors. Japan and North Korea? India and Pakistan?