by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright February 15, 2003
All Rights Reserved.

ounced on by the U.N. Security Council opposed to U.S. military action against Iraq, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell took his lumps, while high-minded ambassadors lectured the U.S. about the virtues of peace. This was not Powell's day, as it was on Feb. 5 when he persuasively presented the U.S. case against Saddam with a full multimedia display showing aerial reconnaissance photos and intercepted phone calls. From the get-go, Powell faced an uphill battle pushing tough action at the institution chartered to preserve world peace. Preaching to the choir, "In this temple of the United Nations, we are the guardians of an ideal, the guardians of conscience . . ." said French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, winning applause from the gallery, opposing U.S. efforts to disarm Iraq by force. When the U.N. unanimously passed Resolution 1441, it specifically authorized "serious consequences" should Iraq not comply.

      When Chief U.N. Weapons Inspector Hans Blix and International Atomic Energy Agency Dirctor Mohamamed ElBaradei delivered critical reports Jan. 27, it signaled Iraq was in material breach of 1441, requiring unconditional cooperation. Iraq didn't meet its obligation on Dec. 8 by truthfully declaring all proscribed munitions, including missing stockpiles of nuclear materiel, VX nerve gas, anthrax, small pox, botulinum toxin, mustard gas, etc. Inspections weren't intended to hunt for banned weapons but to verify open disclosures and public destruction. Now France, Russia, Belgium and China want to beef up the inspections delaying "serious consequences" specified in 1441. Blix's latest report admitted that Saddam hasn't fully cooperated or disarmed, though is more forthcoming than 1998. Blix also acknowledged that the inspection process should take far less time if Iraq truly cooperated.

      Blix can't have it both ways: Saying, on the one hand, that Iraq isn't giving unconditional cooperation, and, declaring, on the other, that "We note that access to sites has so far been without problems, including those that had never been declared or inspected, as well as to presidential sites and private residences." No matter how Iraq "improved" since 1998, it doesn't absolve it from meeting new conditions specified by U.N. Resolution 1441. Security Council members also can't selectively excuse Iraq today while condemning them for stonewalling in the past. Whether Iraq improved or not since the last inspection regimen doesn't reverse triggers built into 1441, allowing "serious consequences" should noncompliance occur. Like a good defense attorney, de Villepin diverted attention to sentimental platitudes, not Iraq's unmistakable violations of U.N. Resolution 1441.

      Resolution 1441 wasn't designed to hand U.S. national security over to the United Nations. After 12 years of defying the U.N. since the end of the Gulf War, the Security Council gave Saddam one last chance to come clean, disarm and rejoin the international community. Since Sept. 11, the U.S. can't sit on its hands waiting for the next terrorist attack. With over 3,000 U.S. citizens incinerated and incalculable damage to the U.S. economy, no other nation faces the same threats or losses. Blix was out of line disputing Powell's powerful evidence that Saddam Hussein continues to buffalo U.N. inspectors, now begging for more time. "The reported movement of munitions at the site could have just as easily have been routine activity as movement of proscribed munitions in anticipation of imminent inspections," said Blix conveniently omitting incontrovertible voice recordings of deception by Iraqi personnel.

      Blix and ElBaradei went too far selectively questioning the veracity of U.S. intelligence reports. Neither Blix nor ElBaradei should pass judgments or push for more inspections, only report to the council on Iraq's compliance with 1441. "We have to date found no evidence of ongoing prohibited nuclear or nuclear-related activities in Iraq," said ElBaradei, despite Iraq's failure to account for purchases of high-strength aluminum tubes used in gas centrifuges for enriching uranium. "One must not jump to the conclusion that they exist," said Blix. "However, if they exist, they should be presented for destruction," admitting that Iraq may indeed possess weapons of mass destruction. "An empty hand has nothing to give," said Iraq's U.N. Ambassador Mohammed al-Douri, quoting an Arab proverb, insisting that Iraq has no banned munitions, contradicting the best U.S. and German intelligence—and common sense.

      Powell felt ambushed allowing Blix and ElBaradei to attack the U.S. case, finding Saddam Hussein in material breach of U.N. Resolution 1441. It's easy for de Villepin to say, "No one can assert today that the path of war will be shorter than that of inspections," since the Eiffel Tower wasn't decimated on Sept. 11. While the U.N. looks for smoking guns, President Bush has the unhappy task of defending national security by connecting the dots before the next catastrophe. Inspectors should stick to the facts and stop trying to interfere with U.S. foreign policy that might run through Baghdad. Dismissing surveillance photos yet completely ignoring recovered phone conversations implicating Iraq in ongoing deception clearly displays the U.N.'s bias against the U.S. predicament. Powell must stick to his guns, protect national security and present the facts until the naysayers finally get it.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He edits OnlineColumninst.com and is the author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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