Children of Iraq: The Hijacking Of The United Nations
              Damascus, Syria Times  9/7/00
              by Dr. Gazi Abdulghfour

              The Present ferment-not only in Iraq, but in many parts of the world- raises critical questions about the role of the
              world powers in the post-cold war era.

              The American barbarous aggression against iraq can be considered as an epoch-making events in the
              contemporary history of international relations in general and that of the United Nations in particular. The
              Anglo-American desert games demonstrate the arrant defencelessness of Iraq and the utter helplessness of the
              United Nations.

              The aggressive acts of the new Axis defies reason to be told that it intended to degrade and diminish Iraq's
              capabilities and its infrastructure. But, how does one "degrade and diminish" Iraqi, capabilities by airstrikes when
              UNSCOM could not uncover one suspect facility or site after years of inspection?.

              The despair expressed by the United Nations efficiales while commenting on the airstrikes against Iraq, raises
              basic questions to be faced and debuted relating to the delinquency of the United Nations in the unipolar geo-
              political world order. Indeed, the message, this one-sided war sentout is "might is right", and that the world
              powers of the post- cold war period can get away with blatant acts of aggression. Three permanent members of
              the security council were (are) impotent witnesses tot he attack. This makes it abundantly clear that the security
              council is only an convenient instrumentality of the United States and has forfeited all its legitimacy and credibility
              to act as the guardian of international peace and security. It is beyond doubt, that US and UK, have bombed the
              United Nations system itself into irrelevance.

              How can the United States presumes to act on behalf of the United Nations, and that without any authorization?
              The provocations, the US claimed, was provided by the former UNSCOM thief, Richard Butler, and the other is
              the "Iraqi" "Violation" of the so-called demilitarized zone. It is a sad reflection that such puerile excuses have been
              brazenly advanced by the Clinton administration and accepted by some. "The NO Fly Zones" which were
              imposed by the United States,above 36th and below the 33rd parallel to the north and South of Iraq, remain one
              of the most blatant violations of the Iraqis national sovereignty and, therefore of international law itself. The
              post-war development proved the hypothesis that destruction of Iraq's military might, and infrastructure were the
              undeclared latent motives beneath the facade of liberation of Kuwait.

              Certain point, in fact, need dispassionate consideration. Does Iraq, have the requisite infrastructure and
              technology to fabricate a nuclear device? why has there been such concentrated pressure on Iraq to laminate its
              armouring and weapons system? Is Iraq the only state possessing such weapons? Are Iraq's weapons potential
              being deliberately exaggerated for ulterior objectives? Is the pressure on Iraq a part of the orchestrated campaign
              of a group against selected state to disarm them? It the security council's stand a move towards genuine nuclear
              and general disarmament? Doesn't the United Nations attitude toward Iraq indicate the trust of much talked-about
              new world order? What does the apparent carelessness and indifference of the dominant international community
              towards the miseries of the Iraqi people bode for the teeming millions of the third world in times to come?.

              In conclusion, one can merely state that the US acting independently-with UK cooperation in the hope of
              constitution a new axis in what is purely a political move for searing perceived US and British strategic solution to
              the dilemmas created by states that engage in intentional terrorism. Mean while, Iraq has the right to self- defence,
              which is an inherent right of every state neither the Kellogg Briand Pact, nor the United Nations impairs this right.
              However, one just can't blame the United Nations. It merely provides an apparatus; a formidable one indeed. The
              nations would function the way member states wanted it to function. Crucial occasions come and go but history
              keeps the record and that record does not follow the principle: Forgive and forget.