Jan. 28, 1998.
It is now becoming clear to all rational members of the
international community that the United Nations’ ‘siege’ on Iraq
these past five years has been impelled not so much by
security considerations as by emotional considerations.
Because, it is obvious that the world has enough skill and
resources at her disposal to carry out weapons inspection in
Iraq (or indeed in China, France, Ukraine, India or South Africa)
without the use of American reconnaissance aircraft or the
present surfeit of American inspectors.
But this admission would be a big blow to the pride of the most
powerful country on earth: a country that has invested so
much of her resources and even the lives of her citizens in
ensuring that universal notions of international boundaries are
preserved in the Persian gulf. This sacrifice came at a time
when the historical claims of Iraq on Kuwait were beginning to
look, at least academically, authentic.
The leadership of the United States in the military pacification
of, at the time, a dangerously belligerent Iraq, has also had
the pleasant side-effect of ensuring that the world, especially
the West, has free access to Kuwait’s crude oil (and at a
reasonable price too) To concede therefore that Americans
could be replaced by other nationals for peace’s sake would
look like ingratitude, on the part of the United Nations, to the
United States.
Unfortunately, this, to me, appears to be the only viable
rational option we have. The Americans, having proved their
military might and technological prowess before the world
during Operation Desert Storm, need not prove it again. It
would be a wasteful anti-climax to the so-called mother of all
battles.
Americans must realize that their greatness as a nation does
not lie only in the demonstration of military strength. It also lies
in the exercise of the moral strength that is the hallmark of all
good democracies. The moral strength needed in this particular
case is that of grace: the discipline and ability of a physically
superior person to allow the weak to have his way. This is the
way to breed humanism. America is a great nation and I am
certain it has the moral strength and courage to achieve this
feat. Once she gives the nod, she would probably be shocked
how much the rest of the world has been secretly yearning for
this way of peace.
