Jean Chretien, Canada’s prime minister, in Mexico City on 27 February: <\/p>\n
We have to think of consequences if there is a war outside of the U.N. We live in a very different world today. We have only one supernation in the world, one superpower, and the United Nations are needed more than ever.<\/p>\n
So the purpose of the UN is simply to restrain the “one supernation … one superpower”?<\/p>\n
And this should encourage the US to participate in its activities because …<\/p>\n
The story is in the context of an informal Canadian UN proposal that would set a “strict time limit” on further inspections, as a “compromise” between France (et al.) and the US (et al.). <\/p>\n
Of course, we’ve had <\/i>strict time limits. Iraq has ignored them, or played them, or weaseled through them. So long as the UN inspection teams are willing to say, “Hey, Iraq voluntarily (kicking and screaming) offered up yet another warhead it had ‘lost,'” and as long as France, et al., are willing to use that as a demonstration of how inspections are “working,” setting a “time limit” is meaningless.<\/p>\n
Especially when the inspections regime, and, indeed, any pressure on Iraq to comply with the UN, has come about only because of US (and British) troop movement and threats. And we’re the ones paying the bills, folks, for keeping those troops there. We’re the ones threatening to shed our own blood to this end. Not France. Certainly not Canada (which has posted two — two <\/i>— soldiers in Kuwait, as forward observers).<\/p>\n
Canada’s suggestions sound <\/i>good, but without some strong definitions about what “substantial Iraqi compliance” means, it’s just a restatement of the status quo. And without some assurance that France, et al., will not simply weasel around what to do next (assuming that they wouldn’t go for something that doesn’t require yet another UNSC resolution), it’s pointless.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jean Chretien, Canada’s prime minister, in Mexico City on 27 February: We have to think of consequences if there is a war outside of the U.N. We live in a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3999","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-geopolitical-brouhaha"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1673,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2001\/11\/27\/run_it_up_the_f.html","url_meta":{"origin":3999,"position":0},"title":"Run it up the flagpole","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 27-Nov-01 7:46pm","format":false,"excerpt":"The World's Sexual Superpower! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! The United States remains the sexual superpower of the world with Americans making love more often and with more partners than any other...","rel":"","context":"In "Science & Nature"","block_context":{"text":"Science & Nature","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/science"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9372,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2006\/07\/19\/the_real_world.html","url_meta":{"origin":3999,"position":1},"title":"The real world is a messy place","author":"***Dave","date":"Wed 19-Jul-06 11:06pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Everyone wants there to be white hats and black hats.\u00a0 The white hats are the good guys -- which includes us (whomever we consider us to be) plus the folks...","rel":"","context":"In "Geopolitical Brouhaha"","block_context":{"text":"Geopolitical Brouhaha","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/geopolitical-brouhaha"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38942,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/10\/01\/lordy-i-do-miss-the-animated-justice-league.html","url_meta":{"origin":3999,"position":2},"title":"Lordy, I do miss the animated Justice League","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 1-Oct-13 10:02pm","format":false,"excerpt":"Time to break out the DVDs. 22 Times The Justice League Proved Their Superpower Is Sass Can one universe handle this much snark? Potential League members must be able to kick ass and cut a biting retort at a moment's notice. View this post on Google+","rel":"","context":"In "~PlusPosts"","block_context":{"text":"~PlusPosts","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/blogging\/plusposts"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36653,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2013\/06\/03\/its-all-about-the-oil-at-least-for-china.html","url_meta":{"origin":3999,"position":3},"title":"It's all about the oil (at least for China)","author":"***Dave","date":"Mon 3-Jun-13 9:25am","format":false,"excerpt":"China is the biggest beneficiary of Iraq's oil boom, cutting new contracts, building compounds and airports, making major infrastructure investments, and making friends with\u00a0the locals. 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And yet, how far have those principles penetrated, in two...","rel":"","context":"In "Politics & Law"","block_context":{"text":"Politics & Law","link":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/category\/politics-law"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41627,"url":"https:\/\/hill-kleerup.org\/blog\/2014\/04\/08\/ignorance-is-foreign-policy-bliss.html","url_meta":{"origin":3999,"position":5},"title":"Ignorance Is (Foreign Policy) Bliss","author":"***Dave","date":"Tue 8-Apr-14 8:26am","format":false,"excerpt":"The further off people are from knowing where the Ukraine actually is, the more favorable they are toward\u00a0military intervention there. Hell of a way to run a superpower.(h\/t +Kee Hinckley)Reshared post from +David BrinOnly one out of six Americans can find Ukraine on a map. 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