A rchive Date
[ 30-01-2003 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ U.N ]
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[http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/worthington.html
Bush's pressure is on UN, not just Saddam
By PETER WORTHINGTON - Toronto Sun
January 30, 2003
Anyone watching President Bush's state of the union speech Tuesday night can have few doubts: He's going after Saddam Hussein in Iraq.
The hour-long speech was filled with significant economic and tax stuff, but all boiled down to Iraq - and a subliminal warning to the UN Security Council that their meeting Wednesday next week will be their last chance to okay a U.S.-led attack on Saddam Hussein.
If you think about it, it's the UN that's on the hot seat. If America acts alone, or leads the Brits and Aussies against Saddam, it likely means the UN is finished as a significant forum of international political decision - especially if Saddam is decisively trounced.
It's hard to see the Security Council abdicating what little influence it has left, especially when America is led by a president of Bush's fervour, faith and resolve. He just ain't going to stop.
Most interesting were Bush's revelations from U.S. intelligence agencies that tens of thousands of litres of chemical and biological weapons that Saddam was known to have produced up to 12 years ago have vanished. No trace has been found of their destruction.
Weapons inspectors are on a "scavenger hunt" in an area the size of California. If Saddam has destroyed them, how come weapons inspectors haven't been shown when, where and how? Some 25,000 litres of anthrax, 38,000 litres of toxin, tons of mustard and other gases. No evidence whatsoever that they've been destroyed, except for a dozen empty chemical weapons shells.
This was a different George Bush talking to Congress and the nation - a sombre, resolute, businesslike Bush. None of the good ol' boy Bush, no singling out people in the crowd for accolades, no homilies.
It was a Bush warning of war. Speaking to the troops around the frontiers of Iraq and on aircraft carriers, he said: "You believe in America, and America believes in you," and then he addressed the people of Iraq, assuring (warning?) them that "your enemies are not surrounding your country, your enemy is ruling your country."
You get the feeling that there's no bluffing in Bush, and that he means it when he says that when Saddam is attacked "we will bring to the Iraqi people food, medical supplies and freedom."
If you are American, it is difficult to resist the emotional appeal of the president proclaiming "the call of history has come to the right country."
Has Bush made a persuasive case for war? Hard to say, but what he has done is make a persuasive case that he intends to wage war against a dictator who is the embodiment of evil.
When one looks at the tortures, murders and wicked acts Saddam has committed to entrap his country, it's hard to disagree that removing him would better the world. Torturing children, wives, relatives to get confessions from suspects, then butchering them is mindful of Stalin.
This state of the union speech seems to indicate that the end game has begun against Saddam. Bush met yesterday with members of Congress to further provide reasons for war, and today he meets Canada's Foreign Minister Bill Graham (that should be fun for both!) to explain his case and get Canada on side.
Poor Mr. Graham. He's captive of what the PM tells him, so he'll likely indulge in platitudes which may mean anything or nothing. Par for Canada. Finally, Bush's intentions are summed up in the sentence: "Trusting the sanity and restraint of Saddam Hussein is not an option."
War now seems inevitable, and the fate of the UN may hinge on its decision this coming Wednesday.
Letters to the editor should be sent to editor@sunpub.com
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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