Veto
by
James Brooks
Dissident Voice
March 1, 2003
Today
the New York Times declared war. Its editorial (Facing
down Saddam, 2/25/03) was remarkable both for its finality and for its
sheer heartlessness. One sensed that a corner had been turned in a remote hallway
of power, that a message had been delivered, privately, but for wide
distribution.
Meanwhile, the Washington
Post was reporting details of the administration's final effort to subvert the
United Nations before it begins its conquest of Iraq. (U.S.
Officials Say U.N. Future At Stake in Vote, 2/25/03)
The new pitch demonstrates
that there is no limit to the cynicism of the Bush rot. According to diplomats
on the Security Council, the US now says that the decision to go to war has
already been made, and there's nothing the Council can do about it. Since their
votes can't stop the war, they should vote for the US/UK proposal, lest they,
by opposition, "irrevocably destroy the world body's legitimacy.."
We could dwell on the
diabolically doubled hypocrisy of this latest gambit. We could marvel at how
Bush strips the Security Council of its relevance by arrogating the war
decision to himself, and then demands that the Council approve its loss of
relevance by voting for his proposal, "unless it wants to render itself
irrelevant."
Yes, we could go on choking
on this non-thought, this moral void that swirls like a black hole at the
center of US power. We might learn something by dissecting the techniques of this
rhetorical jujitsu, which exploits its opponents respect for meaning and truth
as a weakness to be used against them. But time is short, and the immediate
victims, the United Nations and the people of Iraq, need our help now. Mr. Bush
assures us that he can "go it alone."
Could this dreadful trap
entice the Security Council into giving its imprimatur to Bush's war? Yes, it
could, especially if it is supplemented by the usual US approach to UN
"negotiations". The Post reported that the US was bringing no new
bribes or threats to the table for this final vote, but it is difficult to
believe this will remain true for long, if indeed it was ever true. The US has
become addicted to a "carrot and stick" approach to UN diplomacy, one
that has degenerated into the outright corruption of the Security Council. A
thorough report just released by the Institute for Policy Studies, Coalition of the Willing or
Coalition of the Coerced?, exposes these shameful tactics in detail.
If the US bullies and bribes
enough votes from the temporary members of the Council, it may be able to grab
a majority for its proposal, even if the Big Four (France, Germany, Russia, and
China) manage to hang together in opposition. So it's likely to boil down to a
veto; will France, or Russia, or China exercise their right to veto the US/UK
proposal for war?
And here's where we run into
the Holy of Holies; the "unity" of the Security Council. According to
the Post article, "France has repeatedly spoken of unity as the primary
council goal." But France is by no means alone in its regard for
"unity"; it is widely accepted as self-evident that unity is
essential to maintaining the Security Council's strength and relevance.
Predictably, the soft side
of the US gambit sings the song of unity like the Sirens, urging that "the
council has to demonstrate that it is capable of taking decisions", that,
as Condoleeza Rice says, it "needs to be strong." They want you to
forget that the United States has cast more vetoes against the consensus of the
Council than all other Security Council members combined.
What does "unity"
mean to the United Nations, and what should it mean? Currently, Security
Council "unity" is understood to connote "unanimity with
occasional abstentions". Under this definition, "unity" is an
absolute. But in a process of deliberation, an absolute can only be a goal,
never an imperative.
Unity is desirable because
it confers strength, and the UN cannot ignore the need to maintain and build
its strength. The pursuit of unity also challenges opposing parties to seek
solutions that work for all. But the strength of unity is weakness if it comes
at the price of the UN's own integrity, if it erodes the trust it keeps with
the people of the world. If unity is made the paramount goal, compromise will
become capitulation, and the sought-after strength will drain away in distrust
and alienation.
Resolving the tension
between the necessity of integrity and the desire for unity is the real art and
anguish of a healthy and relevant Security Council. It is also the genius of
democracy.
Yet even a democratic body
cannot be strong, or even survive, if it is not also bound by the rule of law.
It is often forgotten that the Security Council itself must answer to the
higher power of international law.
Respect for international
law is the one universal key to strengthening the Security Council and the
United Nations itself. Nothing would be so deeply injurious to the Council's
strength and legitimacy as a Security Council decision that contravenes international
law.
But the Council is now
looking down the barrel of just such a decision. With all responsible
authorities in agreement that Iraq clearly does not pose an 'imminent threat',
there is no justification, precedent, or excuse under international law for
approving the use of military force.
Nor is the importance of
international law merely a long-term or philosophical question for Council
members. Illegal action by the Council could also be met with more immediate
consequences. If the Security Council approves a use of force that cannot be
justified under international law, it could wind up in the docket rubbing
shoulders with the likes of Rumsfeld and Cheney. (Bush will no doubt be AWOL.)
Sometimes the decision to
not make a decision is the best possible course of action. Only the young and
the foolish would disagree. The UN Security Council may face such a moment now.
It cannot approve an illegal war on Iraq opposed by nearly 90% of the world,
without gravely damaging its integrity. So a veto must be used if necessary.
But the Council also cannot prohibit a war on Iraq; any move in that direction
would be vetoed instantly by the United States.
The outcome would reflect
the deeply divided will of the members, as it should. It would save the
Security Council from the censure of world opinion, and would strengthen faith
in the UN's integrity. Would the Security Council's strength as global arbiter
be damaged? How could it not? Yet what other course would leave it stronger?
The world knows that Bush will stop at nothing to coerce the process. In such
circumstances, how can a vote to authorize his illegal war be viewed as
anything but the most abject public humiliation of the Security Council? Can
this lead to strength and relevance?
"But a veto would be
divisive." If so, the United States has been by far the most divisive
Security Council member, as noted above. The obvious question must be asked: If
the US could repeatedly veto Security Council resolutions passed to make Israel
comply with international law, how can France, or Russia, or China shrink from
vetoing a US resolution for an illegal war on Iraq? These are precisely the
most legitimate circumstances in which to exercise the veto. At such times the
veto power is not a political privilege but a moral imperative.
The trust of the world is
truly the UN's strength of strengths. Without it the UN can only become the
irrelevant tool of the powerful few. It is no accident that the brutal
'diplomacy' wielded by the United States is by far the greatest threat to this
trust today. To veto the war may well not stop it, but it will stop the world's
fear that even its own United Nations has been completely hijacked by the US
quest for hegemony.
James Brooks of Worcester, Vermont, is an independent researcher and former
business owner whose articles have been published by Vermont newspapers,
Antiwar.com, Media Monitors Network, Dissident Voice and several other sites.
Currently Mr. Brooks serves as webmaster for Vermonters for a Just Peace in
Palestine/Israel (www.vtjp.org) and publishes News Links, a free once-daily e-mail digest of
in-depth Middle East news and commentary. To subscribe, contact jamiedb@attglobal.net
References
Facing Down Iraq, New York
Times, February 25, 2003:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/25/opinion/25TUE1.html?ex=1047200319&ei=1&en=cb993853c190cf19
U.S. Officials Say U.N.
Future At Stake in Vote, Washington Post, February 25, 2003:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A62438-2003Feb24.html
Coalition of the Willing or
Coalition of the Coerced?, Institute for Policy Studies, February 26, 2003:
http://www.ips-dc.org/coalition.htm
http://www.ips-dc.org/COERCED.pdf