If the leadership of a country truly believes that a group or nation seriously threatens the way of life of their own country, are they justified in taking pre-emptive action against the perceived threat?

Some leader thought so at one time.

And an interesting parallel - two quotes - who said which?

"As a sovereign State, this cannot be controlled by any of the other States. Therefore it can serve as a refuge for {bad people} who have been found out and at the same time a high-school for the training of other {bad people}."

"Close immediately and permanently every {bad people} training camp in {your country}, and hand over every {bad person}, and every person in their support structure, to appropriate authorities. Give {my country} full access to {bad people} training camps, so we can make sure they are no longer operating.

[now donning environmentally incorrect asbestos suit, even though I was only making observations and asking questions]