Earlier this week, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan whined that if the United States attacks Iraq without his organization's permission and blessing, Washington would be in violation of "international law."
"If the U.S. goes outside the Security Council, it will not be in conformity with the U.N. charter," Annan told the Australian Associated Press, adding that if the U.S. acts without U.N. sanction, "the legitimacy of such military action will be seriously impaired."
"War must always be the last resort," Annan continued. "The United Nations has a duty to search to the very end for a peaceful solution."
As head of the world body, you would expect Annan to stand up for it, but as a professional diplomat who is supposedly well-educated, you would also expect him to be reasonable and prone to common sense. None of those latter qualities are inherent in his blathering, however.
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Annan says the U.S. can't act without Security Council approval because to do so is not "in conformity" with U.N. rules. If the United States were constitutionally bound by U.N. dictates, Annan would be right. But America is, thankfully, its own free spirit. And besides, if our leaders waited for the U.N.'s blessing to act in defense of this nation, they'd be in dereliction of their sworn duty.
Quite simply, the Bush administration was wrong in ever seeking the U.N.'s permission to attack Iraq in the first place. Getting rid of Saddam Hussein – as in thwarting al-Qaida and fighting terrorism globally – is in our best interests. Bush's job is to protect this country, and by virtue of his election, he already has all the mandate he needs to do that. Seeking Annan's blessing is polite but not necessary. Yet by even asking, we give the U.N. a legitimacy in our foreign-policy process for which it is not entitled.
Meanwhile, if Americans disagree with Bush and Congress' course of action, we can begin to rectify that next year.
Perhaps what is worse about Annan's complaining is his hypocrisy. Saddam is, and has been, in violation of a bunch of his precious U.N. mandates for years, yet the U.S. is criticized for wanting to have them enforced. Also, Annan says nothing of France, Germany, Russia and China – all permanent Security Council members who are opposing our battle against Iraq for reasons that best suit their own national interests.
Annan is whining now because he and his predecessors have been under the impression, for too long, that they – and not the duly elected representatives of the American people – are in charge of our destiny. That is, in part, the fault of our leaders and, in part, the fault of the American people for tolerating (and re-electing) leaders who led the U.N. to believe it controls American foreign policy.
As it becomes painfully obvious that the U.N. remains in vehement disagreement any time America wants to exercise its God-given right of self-defense, it becomes even more obvious that the world body has outlived its usefulness and overstepped its original mandate and intended purpose. Debate, not dictate, was supposed to be the U.N.'s primary function. Somewhere along the way, its diplomats began to believe they really had the power to manage member nations' affairs.
The sad fact is, sometimes nations have to fight to protect themselves, as in the U.S. battle against global terrorism. But the U.N. as a whole, as well as Kofi Annan in particular, seem incapable of understanding that. The world body also seems incapable of understanding that many other nations are benefiting from this American war against terror, without ever having to fire a shot themselves or risk a single one of their soldiers. A simple "thanks" from the U.N. would have been enough.
It's time our leaders and our president realize they have more important things to do than to waste time defending their decision to defend us, especially to a bunch of toothless bureaucrats who are members of a toothless organization. In his world, Kofi Annan still believes he's necessary, but in the real world – our world – he's not.