Analysis: Bush's moment of destiny

Analysis: Bush's moment of destiny

By Rob Watson BBC Washington correspondent

With the United States on the brink of war with Iraq, what has taken President George W Bush to this point in the face of such strong international opposition?

On Monday, the day he issued his ultimatum to Saddam Hussein, President Bush was seen, albeit briefly, playing with his dogs in the White House garden.

Bush was thoughtful at Wednesday's meetings in the White House

Those close to the president say it reflects a certain serenity, and, what they call, the belief in his heart that Saddam Hussein must be disarmed.

So how did we get to this point?

According to some officials, Mr Bush had made up his mind to tackle Iraq in the days immediately following the 11 September attacks.

Having seen the devastation caused by the use of conventional means, the thinking went, imagine an attack using chemical or biological weapons.

In the months that followed, the president seemed to veer from one justification to another: the violation of UN resolutions, Saddam Hussein's possible links to al-Qaeda, the brutal treatment of his people.

Democratic make-over

But the real explanation is 11 September and the president's new-found doctrine of pre-emptive action to eliminate threats to America's security.

Mr Bush had allegedly made up his mind on Iraq after the 11 September

And there is something else.

This president, for better or worse, genuinely believes that to stop terrorism the Muslim world - and the Middle East in particular - needs, and deserves, a democratic "make-over", and that Iraq is the place to start.

Of course, it is unlikely the US would be on the brink of war were it not for the president's tendency to see the world in terms of "black and white" and "good and evil".

A tendency that so alarms his critics at home and abroad, but which has its roots in the president's religious faith and the ideals of the American West.

And yet, somehow this moment in history all seems so unlikely.

When the president took office after the disputed election of 2000, most thought this man - who preferred pranks to politics and who so mangled the English language - would soon be forgotten as a very mediocre occupant of the White House.