No, you are not getting it. They don't have to be a threat to the US to justify war, at least not for me. Just like in the hypothetical with Germany, they didn't have to be a threat to the US to justify war.
Maybe the term preemptive war is not very accurate, but Saddam was exterminating his own people, he was a serious danger to the neighboring countries, he was toying with the non-proliferation agreement and was trying to pool the wool over the inspector's eyes (which is conveniently left out by all the critics, who only mention that no actual WMDs were found), and he was harboring terrorists, such as Zarqawi. If that doesn't justify war, I don't know what does.
Maybe the term preemptive war is not very accurate, but Saddam was exterminating his own people, he was a serious danger to the neighboring countries, he was toying with the non-proliferation agreement and was trying to pool the wool over the inspector's eyes (which is conveniently left out by all the critics, who only mention that no actual WMDs were found), and he was harboring terrorists, such as Zarqawi. If that doesn't justify war, I don't know what does.
The other possibility is that you make a case for a 'humanitarian intervention'. But everyone knows that's simply not why the US invaded Iraq.
Look up both notions please, because I feel like you don't fully understand them.
