		Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 31 Dec. 1998 - 6 Jan. 1999 Issue No.410
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Current issue \| Previous issue \| Site map

Zero-sum war games

In human and material terms, Iraq lost a great deal as a result of the US-UK air strikes this month. But there have been other casualties. The UN lost political influence and moral weight. Specifically, the authority of the Security Council has been flouted by two of its five permanent members. If recent weeks are any indication of what is to come, and there is strong reason to believe that they are, the new millennium could witness the collapse of the international regime established in 1945.

The US and Britain bypassed the UN and rained missiles and bombs on Iraq for four days, deaf to worldwide protests -- from the three other major powers in the Security Council, European and Asian nations, most Arab states and even sections of American public opinion. Yet Saddam Hussein has risen from the rubble to defy the US. Since the attacks stopped, Iraq has said it will not allow UN arms inspectors back on its soil. It has also banned all UN flights to and from the country.

The Security Council has been divided on how to deal with the post-attack crisis. Washington is opposing any notion of a revamped UN arms inspection system to pave the way for easing or lifting the sanctions. The US has even ruled out any role for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in the arms inspection dispute. Thus the prospect of a UN contribution appears bleak. The situation is worsened by repeated US threats to strike again, Iraq's defiance of the southern and northern "no-fly zones", and its firing at US and British planes entering these zones.

Russian Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov has dismissed suggestions that a new Cold War could be imminent, but warns that renewed strikes against Iraq would create "a very threatening situation, which could destroy the entire system of international relations".

Still, the US and Iraq appear unwilling to budge. The UN is unable to move. A hapless world looks on as some 20,000 US troops backed by sea and air armadas stand by on maximum alert in the Gulf region, awaiting a signal to wreak more havoc upon Iraq.