United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan may turn out to be the big loser in the war against Iraq. The war was launched without explicit authorization from the international body he chairs. The UN has been bypassed in a rare defiance of its role. Annan thought he could wage war by proxy, hiding behind France, Russia and Germany but the United States confronted him head on. After maneuvers aimed at preventing Bush from bypassing the Security Council and after making some trips abroad, Annan found himself isolated and cornered.
This is not the first time he has found himself neglected by American leaders who, on many occasions, have circumvented the Security Council on a variety of pretexts. Annan must be reeling under the heavy burden he has been forced to carry, seeing himself abandoned each time a regional or international crisis takes the stage. Now he fully understands that the US no longer needs him to give international legitimacy to its actions and so it must be seriously considering his successor. Who knows? The substitute may be none other than Hans Blix, the chief UN weapons inspector who led the search for Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. Although Mr. Blix failed to convince Bush of the need to allow the inspectors to stay longer in Iraq and finish their job, he adopted a tactic different from that of his boss at the UN. While telling the world that Iraq had shown signs of cooperation, he kept heaping allegations upon the Iraqi president, saying he was still hiding weapons.
We can well understand Annan’s disappointment and frustration. As chairman of all chairmen, every major decision and move affecting world security was passed with his knowledge and agreement; every regional or international crisis was discussed in his presence.
He may not be able to impose his will on other leaders but for sure, the magnitude of the role given to the UN allows him to influence courses of action. There are still red lines he can’t cross, however, when it comes to adopting a resolution concerning Israel. The image of the secretary-general has been shaken over the past few weeks despite his attempts to try to alleviate European fears by promising them a role in the reconstruction of Iraq after the war. Would Annan’s successor meet the same treatment from the US?
Arab News From the Local Press 12 April 2003
