The National People’s Congress of China just passed a law that authorizes Beijing to take military action to keep Taiwan from pursuing formal independence. Sound familiar? Let me paraphrase that for you: " The U.S. Congress just passed a law that authorizes President Bush to take military action to keep Saddam Hussein from developing weapons of mass destruction."

Taiwan’s independence is no more a threat to China than Saddam Hussein was a threat to the United States (or the free world for that matter). But then, that’s not what the two resolutions were about in the first place. Both legislative actions were about hubris, arrogance and political ambitions.

The irony is that George Bush’s America claims the right of pre-emptive military action even when there is no imminent threat to our peace and security. On what basis should we be outraged when other nations make the same claim? It seems to me that is the dilemma for those who admire Bush’s "John Wayne" posture. Is that the new international standard ---for China or any other nation that embraces President Bush's pre-emption foreign policy? A more interesting question is how many Bush Chicken Hawks are really willing to go to war to thwart China’s "pre-emptive ambitions?