"Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., explores the war in Iraq, the presidency, and the future of democracy." "Should the United States go it alone, or should it involve the institutions of collective security? Schlesinger points out that unilateralism is the oldest doctrine in American history but that the Second World War marked a turning point. Presidents from Franklin D. Roosevelt to George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton advanced the principle of collective action; with the Iraq War, however, the younger President Bush reverted to unilateralism." "The war in Iraq, however, was undertaken on the principle of preventive war, now known as the Bush Doctrine. Schlesinger notes a long line of presidents who have rejected the preventive war argument. It includes no less a figure than Dwight D. Eisenhower, who said, "preventive war, to my mind, is an impossibility." Eisenhower had military caution in mind, but Schlesinger also points out another problem with the preventive war argument: it requires an accurate crystal ball. Unfortunately, history can suggest nothing but humility with respect to our ability to forecast the future."--BOOK JACKET.