You're right, it is problematic. Ideally, history should reflect the whole of an administration, both the good and bad things to be learned.

As for the UN and the pre-emptive strike precedent, i'm inclined to think them problematic but ultimately the best course given the circumstances. We could talk about this at lenth later, but i'm not up for it at the moment. As for international credibility... double-edged sword: i've lost a lot of respect for a lot of governmental (and nongovernmental) bodies.