With the United States bringing out new rules of international relations regularly, it is important to take stock from time to time. One of them, spawned by the Iraq conflict, is the uncertainty doctrine. This says that whether Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMD) or not does not matter. What is relevant is the fact that they may have existed. Iraq had to be attacked in order to clear up this uncertainty.
The uncertainty doctrine has been kicking round in U.S. neocon literature for some time. It has now been given formal recognition by President George W. Bush. Generations will come to admire its neat simplicity: It allows any nation to attack any other nation at any time.
It also means that you and I can be arrested for murder. True, we have not actually committed the deed. But it possible that we might. So put us away before we can do any harm.