¶ … 1998 edition of the Christian Century, Todd David Whitmore writes, "The U.S. may move at some point to bomb Iraq, and do so claiming that any shedding of innocent blood is on Hussein's hands. But if it does, it is important that it does so without support from those who live under the cross." Now that Whitmore's prediction has come true and the United States has gone ahead and bombed Iraq, the United Nations conflict over the Iraqi sanctions may be at an end. However, new conflicts will certainly arise, over the self-determination of the Iraqi people vs. The interest of the paternalistic and hegemonic United States.
Whitmore's article focuses on the moral implications of the sanctions. The author discusses the complexity of the conflict as it manifests in the United Nations. On the one hand, Saddam Hussain has perpetrated murder and worse on thousands, indeed millions of Iraqi people, especially the Kurds. Hussain is no saint. On the other hand, the United States-imposed sanctions have killed an estimated 500,000 people, half of whom are children under five. Whitmore notes that both sides claim moral superiority; the United States declares that to remove the sanctions would be to condone Hussains' actions, but Hussain asserts that the sanctions are a cruel and unjust measure. As with any relationship conflict, both sides have valid points.
Whitmore's article proves that cross-cultural relationships are always too intricate and complex to draw simple solutions. Both sides of the conflict share an equal responsibility to the Iraqi people and both sides are incorrect in assuming they have the moral high ground. In any complex relationship, especially one involving whole nations and the world at large, oversimplification is dangerous. The United Nations conflict over the Iraqi sanctions illustrates the need for mutual understanding, third-party mediation, and a willingness to embrace compromise. Now that Iraq has been invaded, the United Nations still faces a major conflict between that nation's future government and that of the United States.
Works Cited
Whitmore, Todd David. "An Occasion of Sin: Economic sanctions against Iraq continue to cause conflict between the United Nations and Saddam Hussain." The Christian Century. 2 Dec. 1998. Find Articles. 15 Apr 2003. http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m1058/33_115/53390004/p1/article.jhtml?term=%22united+nations%22+conflict
(Somalia - UNOSCOM 1. Background) However, a major limitation of the initiative was that the UN force was limited to self-defense, which resulted in it being infective and virtually ignored by the various warlords in the regions. The United States also attempted to intervene and manage the conflict. To this end the U.S. organized a military coalition with the purpose of, "...creating a secure environment in southern Somalia for the
United Nations -- Criticisms Description of the United Nations The United Nations (UN) has a security council that consists of 15 members. The main purpose of this council is to resolve any issues and conflicts in order to maintain peace among the nations in the world. This council was initiated in 1946. The formation of this council happened at the time when the League of Nations failed. The main reason given for
" More precisely, the role of the Resolution was to establish the UN Operation in the Congo. This came as a result of the vivid request of the Government for the UN to intervene, given the troop movement from the Belgian side. The action taken by the Belgian was clearly justifiable. Similar to the cases of Somalia and Rwanda, the nationals from the colonizing country are at great risk at the
Thus, "by late 1992, the catastrophic situation in Somalia had outstripped the UN's ability to quickly restore peace and stability, mainly because the UN was hamstrung by insufficient forces and UN peacekeeping principles and methods could not cope with the need to use force in such complex situations. On 3 December 1992, UN Security Council Resolution 794 authorised a coalition of UN members led by the U.S. To form
The observer group functioning was assumed during the post war periods of 1956, 1967 and 1973. It saw the institution of the first armed UN force to generate a stock between Israeli and Egyptian forces in the Sinai. Ten nations shared soldiers. Another force was instituted after the war between Egypt and Israel in 1967 to watch the peace agreement between the groups. This occurred during a period of
UN Security Council Proliferation of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons to terrorist organizations is inarguably one of the greatest menaces threatening international peace and security today.[footnoteRef:1] Since the turn of the century, this sentiment has grown in strength across the world, and as a countermeasure to this threat, in 2004, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1540 to combat the dangerous nexus between the spread of weapons of mass destruction
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now