Editorial: United Nations must respond to evidence
Published 12:00 am Thursday, February 6, 2003
So Saddam Hussein is lying. Surprise, surprise.
The evidence Secretary of State Colin Powell presented to the United Nations Security Council Wednesday was not especially surprising, but it was effective. The taped conversations, satellite photos and information from sources in Iraq painted a picture of a regime that not only possesses, but still produces, the kind of weapons the United States and the United Nations are concerned about, despite Iraqi assurances that such programs have ended. There should be no doubt left in any impartial mind that Saddam is continuing his chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs, and doing everything imaginable to hide the programs from U.N. weapons inspectors.
People have been asking whether Powell made a convincing case for war. That’s the wrong question to ask. The fact is that the Security Council set forth the rules that Saddam’s Iraq must follow to avoid breaching his obligation to comply with the mandate that he disarm. Cooperation with the inspectors was one condition the council set. It’s clear he is not only failing to cooperate, but actively evading the inspectors and hiding his weapons programs.
Iraqi protests and denials are worthless; any scientist or spokesman who did not deny the existence of these programs would face death at the hands of Saddam’s ruthless government. If there was any question left about whether the Iraqi regime can be trusted, it’s gone now.
Many Americans are still not sure that a preemptive strike is the best way to handle Iraq. However, the United Nations must find a way to enforce its mandate, and it’s clear that the inspections cannot succeed when faced with a sophisticated system to hide weapons and their means of manufacture. If it does not find a way to make Iraq comply, the Security Council and the U.N. as a whole will basically become irrelevant. No body that purports to govern can do so effectively unless it can enforce its policies.
Tribune editorials represent the opinion of the newspaper’s management and editorial staff.