Surprisingly sober editorial in the New York Times today: Disarming Iraq
The only way short of war to get Saddam Hussein to reverse course at this late hour is to make clear that the Security Council is united in its determination to disarm him and is now ready to call in the cavalry to get the job done. America and Britain are prepared to take that step. The time has come for the others to quit pretending that inspections alone are the solution.
I fail to see how anyone who saw the UN session Friday can’t be prepared to go to war with Iraq (and with France, China, and Russia if need be, the weasels).
What’s happening is clear: all of these countries want Iraq to disarm, but they don’t want to get stuck with the tab, so they hide behind the pretence of waiting for inspections to force Saddam to disarm. They know that the US and the UK and our allies will at some point blow off the UN and go do the dirty work, allowing them to enjoy the benefits of a world without Saddam without paying the price financially, militarily, or politically. That’s the mindset of politicians of the welfare state.