Gulf between US & allies emboldens Saddam

“The world community is completely united in seeking firm implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions,” presidential spokesman Michael McCurry said recently. “After some cracks in the armor, we have reconstituted a strong consensus in the Security Council.”In fact, “there is no consensus in the Security Council,” said Iraq specialist Christine Moss Helms.

Instead, “there is growing frustration with a lot of US policies in the region and growing anti-Americanism”.In the case of Iraq, “the real question after six years of sanctions is, is that policy really working?” said Helms, noting that “sanctions fatigue” is not limited to France and Russia.“Irrespective of what happens in the next several weeks, whatever the denouement of this crisis, this is going to give new impetus on the part of permanent and rotating members of the Security Council to find a way out of this impasse brought on by the sanctions,” she said.

A resolution is precisely Saddam Hussein’s goal. He wants the UN to name a date for the lifting of the international trade embargo.Since the start of the latest crisis, the White House has sought to project firmness while maintaining flexibility to preserve the support of its partners.

As a result, it is ready to go as far as possible to avoid a military strike that would shatter the appearance of unity within the Security Council and carry a high political cost.“It makes no sense for the United States to unilaterally jeopardise that consensus at a time when the entire world community seems to be on the same page,” said Mc Curry, adding that there could come a time when the US would have to “go it alone”.Helms, meanwhile, warned that a military strike “is going to inflame further fundamentalism .”