I remember sitting in the movie theater as a boy watching a newsreel of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb attacks. The audience cheered as the cities were incinerated.

The nation felt deeply wronged and was not in the mood to think about whether those citizens of the targeted cities were culpable or not. The emperor of Japan certainly didn't ask the residents of Hiroshima and Nagasaki whether they wanted to start a war with the United States. It was just too bad they were the ones the War Department and the president decided to exterminate in a demonstration of US military power that would bring about a swift end to the war.

It was well after the war before some Americans began having second thoughts about the massive destruction that took place in those attacks. Did it need to be done at all? Was it overkill? Could it have been done another way? To this day, the argument intermittently continues about what could be called the first real use of weapons of mass destruction.

Fast forward 61 years to 11 September, 2001. We didn't have to wait a week to see the destruction of the World Trade Center in the movie theaters. We saw it happening, live and in color, in the discomfort of our living rooms. Through our tears, suspicion and anger we wondered: "How could anyone do this?" We felt very vulnerable and hurt that someone could hate us that much. And some people from around the world cheered.

Whenever there is conflict of any kind someone cheers, someone cries and many die. What was different in these two events? On the one hand, we had a nation wronged by those evil Japanese who had sneak-attacked us at Pearl Harbor (or was it a preemptive strike?) getting their comeuppance, and on the other we had those evil, militant, terrorist Muslims cheering what they thought we had coming to us.

Since the September 11 tragedy, our nation has gone through several presumptions about why our heretofore-unseen enemies wish us harm. One completely neglected hypothesis would have us admit that our policies over the last 50 years have engendered hatred in many places around the world. Such acknowledgment would mean those policies were wrong and would have to change. That is something a self-righteous America has never been ready or willing to do. We are just not good at admitting mistakes because we have spent most of our time and energy convincing the world, and ourselves, that our way of life is superior to anything that has existed since the dawn of time. It would be extremely ego-deflating to retreat from that position.

A half-century ago, an American could travel just about anywhere in the world and not worry about his or her safety. Then the cold warriors in Washington got the bright idea that we should be involved in covert operations to fight communism by participating in political assassinations and assisting in regime changes. We attached CIA operatives to all our embassies and participated in overthrowing governments in Iran, Chile and in some places we don't even know about. Of course, the world noticed and people began thinking that America was getting a bit too cavalier in its heavy-handed interference in the affairs of other countries. In the end communism imploded, not because of our covert operations but because we spent it to death.

The residual effect of our clandestine activities produced a wellspring of resentment that still gushes today, and vengeance on the United States has become the rallying cry of terrorists worldwide. Now, this work product has visited our shores and we act surprised.

We have a long history of assisting tyrannical regimes around the world, but no country gets as much aid from the United States as the repressive government of Israel. In addition to the military and economic support it receives, Israel is given lopsided political support in the international arena. The United States has vetoed some 32 UN Security Council resolutions, in addition to the 68 that were passed and ignored, that would have sanctioned Israel. To say unabashedly that this posture has had no bearing on the hatred the people in the region feel is to declare that they have no legitimate grievances. We are to believe, therefore, that none of this had anything to do with the destruction of the World Trade Center. I would sooner believe in the tooth fairy or Santa Clause

World travelers also know how ridiculous it is to believe that "they" hate us for our freedoms. Equally ridiculous is the proffered notion that our aim is to democratize countries like Iraq. If democracy was our objective, why have talks been held with Prince Hassan of Jordan to re-establish the Hashemite Kingdom in Iraq after SADDAM HUSSEIN'S downfall? No one really believes Iraq is a threat to our security – not the military, not the CIA and not the State Department. If we go to war, it will be because the powerful lobbies will have their way whether it is for oil, international trade or further US control of the Middle East. We are certainly not going to war to redress any grievances that others have against us, and instead will create more of the same.

Have you never wondered what the state of affairs would be today if we had responded to the grievance instead of the act? What if the national aspirations of people such as the Palestinians were realized? What if our current zeal to oust dictators was stated foreign policy from 50 years ago? What if third-world countries would have been brought onto the international stage with democratic governments and their people treated with respect? Would we have the kind of terrorism that exists in the world today? I don't think so.

So here we are, planning to launch a preemptive strike against a country that by all credible accounts had nothing to do with September 11. It is a tremendous opportunity to add to our reputation as the world's super bully. Will the citizens of Baghdad, who have had no say in the actions of their totalitarian government, end up emulating the residents of Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Are we condemned to debate in the aftermath whether it was really necessary, too heavy-handed, or could have been done another way?

Any day now, we will be able to see another war (at least the part that the government wants us to see), live and in deadly color from the safety and security of our living rooms. Some will cheer, some will cry and many, many will die.Raff Ellis lives in the United States and is a retired former strategic planner and computer industry executive. Courtesy of YellowTimes.org