WILL INVADING IRAQ SET A BAD PRECEDENT? Eugene Volokh responds to this claim in Slate:

But regardless of the arena, precedents chiefly influence those who care about equality and consistency and those willing to defer to the precedent-setter’s judgment. The Chinese government, to take Howard Dean’s example, fits neither category. When China is deciding whether or not to invade Taiwan, it will focus on its own interests, not on being consistent with what other governments have done. And Chinese officials are unlikely to be influenced by America’s judgment about when a war is just: They simply don’t respect our views the same way that we might respect our own Supreme Court or Congress.

Read the whole thing.