The Bush Administration faced more problems in finding reasons to invade Iraq recently, as Russia and China joined Germany and France calling for further and more comprehensive inspections.
After a visit with French President Jacques Chirac, Russian President Vladimir Putin reinforced his stance.
“I am convinced that it would be a grave error to be drawn into unilateral action outside of international law,” Putin said in a Feb. 12 article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Putin’s comments were quickly supported by China. According to the Post-Dispatch, Chinese President Jiang Zemin told Chirac, “It is [the U.N. Security Council’s] responsibility to avoid war.”
Nevertheless, questions arise as to if diplomatic efforts made by the international community will be enough to keep U.S. forces out of Iraq.
Jean-Robert Leguey-Feilleux, Ph.D., professor of political science at Saint Louis University, points out that there are few constraints on the Bush Administration’s plans.
“The president has been aiming for military action,” Leguey-Feilleux said. “He will do his best to circumvent the Security Council.”
Leguey-Feilleux also pointed out that the end of the Hajj, with the coming of a harsh Middle East summer, provides a small window for the United States to attack.
Tuesday, Bush announced that his administration would be making efforts in the United Nations to push a resolution granting the “disarmament” of Iraq.
Turkey, Iraq’s northern neighbor, was also in the spotlight this week, as NATO, after a week-long debate, voted to protect Turkey in the event of an invasion from Iraq.
Turkey attempted to invoke Article IV of the NATO treaty, which stated that an attack on one member would result in a reaction by all. However, Germany, Belgium and France refused the plan, believing that it would commit NATO to the Bush-backed, preemptive strike against Iraq. Those were the only three nations of the 19-member coalition to vote against the proposal.
“Countries do not want to be pushed into anything,” Leguey-Feilleux said in reference to the difficulties the Bush Administration is facing in building an international coalition against Iraq.
Turkey has become an intricate part of the United States’ plan to invade Iraq, since Turkey can be used as a base to launch air strikes. Deploying troops in the nation has become difficult since the Pentagon planned to send 80,000 troops, but Turkish restrictions have limited personnel to 40,000.
Last week, the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera television network released a tape of what is believed to contain a message from Osama bin Laden. The tape urged Iraqis and Muslims around the world to unite against the United States and its allies.
