U.N. Resolutions Must Be Enforced : But U.S. should not go it alone against Iraq

One point of potential confrontation with Iraq has now eased, only to be succeeded by another.

U.N. inspectors trying to nail down the status of Saddam Hussein’s ballistic missile programs say they are satisfied with the access to Iraqi facilities they achieved this week. That removes at least the imminent prospect of punitive U.N.--meaning mainly American--air strikes to force Iraq’s compliance with Security Council resolutions. The U.N. inspectors report finding “significant additional information” on three major Iraqi missile programs. What they don’t know is how many missiles--all of which are supposed to be destroyed under the cease-fire agreement that ended last year’s war--Iraq still secretly possesses.

ACCOUNTABILITY: Weapons can sometimes be hidden from prying eyes. Overt military attacks, in an age of highly sophisticated aerial reconnaissance and intercepted radio communications, almost never can be. For weeks Hussein’s air force has been bombing and strafing rebellious Shiite areas in southern Iraq, just as Kurdish areas in the north had earlier been subjected to attack. In the case of the Kurds the anti-Hussein coalition drew a line, barring Iraqi aerial activity north of the 36th parallel. Now the United States, working with Britain, France and other coalition members, is apparently preparing to decree a second air exclusion zone, this time south of the 32nd parallel. In other words an aerial umbrella would be opened up to protect Iraq’s Shiites, a majority of the population. Clear warning is to be served that any Iraqi warplane or helicopter venturing into the exclusion zone will be shot down.

CREDIBILITY: Three points must be made about this evolving commitment.

First, it is necessary for U.N. members to enforce all resolutions dealing with Iraq’s aggression and its aftermath, including Security Council Resolution 688, which requires Baghdad to treat all Iraqi citizens humanely. The piecemeal butchery of Shiites and Kurds in Iraq cannot be tolerated. The authority and credibility of the United Nations must be upheld.

Second, the new commitment must realistically be understood as potentially open-ended. The Shiites, like the Kurds, are vulnerable to attack and will require outside protection so long as Hussein holds power. Which leads to point three:

This must not be a wholly U.S. undertaking. While no other country can match the air power the United States has in the area, many countries--Western and Arab--have the means to contribute to the air patrol activities required. Every effort should be made to enlist the broadest possible involvement. The military risks in this operation seem small; Hussein is unlikely to send what’s left of his mediocre air force up against better planes and pilots. It is the political stakes that are high. Saddam Hussein will go on defying U.N. resolutions as long as he can get away with it. The urgent task of the United Nations--and not of the United States alone--is to be ready to take whatever actions are needed to uphold and enforce those resolutions.