The US against France; a defining moment for world politics or a wasted opportunity
Regional, Analysis, 2/24/2003

The US has begun a process to undermine French opposition to war against Iraq. One of the aspects of doing so are statements by US officials that if France vetoes a United Nations Security resolution for war on Iraq, then the veto does not count for much as it represents only France's position.

That is a good start for the US to undermine the legitimacy of the Security Council. But the US, earlier, went further saying the US will act alone military against Iraq if need be. With these kinds of statements, the US is showing that the Security Council is an illegitimate institution, unless the Council agrees to what the US wants. The US finds itself needing to sacrifice the legitimacy of the very institution it is seeking the support of; this in quest of its unconstrained determination to set the world on any course of action that pleases US interests.

The US should be applauded for such efforts in delegitimizing the Security Council, as the Security Council is a non-democratic institution that should be done away with.

The US in its quest to coerce other countries on the Council to follow its lead is a good example of what absolute power does; it corrupts absolutely -- and with that, precious values laid to waste, values that we have spoken about often.

If the US and others will try to undermined France, then France should be all too happy to play this game. If the Security Council is meaningless, then France can certainly make the US wishes come true as we elaborated in previous articles, and put an end to its existence; a task that should be greatly encouraged, under any circumstance.

But the US can do the UN a huge favor by withdrawing from the UN Security Council, an illegitimate institution that the US sees it as, and let us see if the world can reconstitute itself better or worse without the US. What exactly has the triumphs of the Security Council been? The world will very quickly learn that it can do very well without the United States on the Security Council, or on the United Nations General Assembly for that matter.

As an ex- US ambassador to the UN once noted warning the United Nations: if they don't like us, we can bid them farewell. Well, may be this is as good a time as any for the US to do so. The US said as much in words, may be it is time to act on them. The world will take a deep breath, and then start over, the democratic way. A new birth and a new world order, the kind most of us would like to see.

Previous Stories:
  France holds the key to changing the world, and give it liberty; will France act?   (2/11/2003)
  The US and Iraq; democracy and authoritarianism   (2/3/2003)
  The practice of lending to developing and underdeveloped governments should end   (5/25/2002)

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