Saddam Hussein agreed yesterday to allow U.N. weapons inspectors
into Iraq, a surprise given the Iraqi parliament’s vehement
condemnation of the U.N. resolution on Tuesday.
Hussein’s compliance with the resolution pushes back the
possibility of President Bush mounting a unilateral, preemptive war
against Iraq for at least a little while.
But equally important is the Iraqi president’s consent
also bestows U.N. international protocol with some credibility and
viability in light of the flagrant disregard given to it by
Bush’s policy approach so far.
Bush refers to the imminent war with Iraq as one that will
involve a “coalition” (read: the United States and
Great Britain), but he’s made it clear the United
States’ wishes will override the United Nations’ when
there is discord.
The reason Bush does this is simple: because he can. The United
Nations doesn’t have any teeth without U.S. support. It
certainly can’t check the United States for actions its
members condemn ““ it has no true means, military or
otherwise, of doing so.
Given these realities, the president received wide support for
bothering to present his case before the United Nations at all. In
the end though, the United Nations has an unappealing choice:
choose to serve as a rubber stamp of approval for the United States
or make itself an irrelevant entity.
It’s ironic Bush responded to the Iraqi parliament’s
rejection of the U.N. resolution saying it serves as proof there is
“no democracy” in Iraq and that it confirms the
body’s function as a “rubber stamp” for Hussein
““ the United Nations’ role vis-a-vis the United States
can be described the same way.
Throughout Bush’s campaign to garner support for attacking
Iraq, he has claimed “evidence” of weapons development
exists in sufficient quantity to justify war. Now that a team of
weapons inspectors will search the country, the world can get a
clearer idea of the reality of the situation, independent of what
the Bush administration says.
Assuming Hussein does not impede the inspections proceedings,
the weapons inspectors will likely find some indication weapons
development programs are in place. Whether Iraq has weapons of mass
destruction is not really a debated question ““ more likely
than not, it does. What should be at issue is the extent of, and
intentions behind, the weapons development itself.
Bush should not unleash the military on Iraq upon the weapons
inspectors’ finding their first gram of chemical or
biological warfare material. Instead, the U.S. government should
continue having the situation dealt with at an international level,
where it belongs.
It’s crucial to the U.S. government on multiple levels to
have the Iraqi situation resolved by the United Nations because,
though the United Nations may not have military might, it is still
recognized by almost everyone as the official world voice. A
U.N.-supported attack on Iraq would be unpopular, but a U.S.-only
invasion would be worse, eliciting more hatred toward Americans and
perpetuating their horrible reputation abroad ““ especially in
the Middle East. Having the United Nations take out Hussein’s
weapons accomplishes the same goal as having the United States do
it on its own, so there’s no real reason to refuse
cooperation unless Bush has his own personal agenda.
Bush and Hussein must let the weapons inspectors do their job
without impeding or placing political pressure on them. It’s
especially necessary for war-hungry Bush to do this for the sake of
advancing the merits of international cooperation.
It will be a sad day in world politics if Hussein does a better
job of cooperating with internationally agreed upon plans of action
than the leader of the “free world.”