Can the US Afford to 'Go It Alone' in Iraq?

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President Bush has made clear the US will invade Iraq with or without support from the UN Security Council. Even if a Council majority votes for a new resolution, it-s likely that France will veto. With a bitter challenge from within his own party, it-s possible that Tony Blair won-t be able to make Great Britain part of the -coalition of the willing,- though Defense Secretary Rumsfeld says that there are -work-around-s- for that contingency. We consider the diplomatic and military consequences of unilateral action, and whether US defiance of a -No- vote in the Security Council would violate international law, with experts from Tufts University and Johns Hopkins University, the editor of Jane-s World Armies and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the first Gulf War. Making News: Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic Assassinated The prime minister of Serbia has been gunned down by assassins in Belgrade. Fifty year-old Zoran Djindjic was a pro-Western reformer who surrendered former President Slobodan Milosevic to the War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague. Zoran Sekulech, editor-in-chief of the independent Fonet News Agency, says Djindjic-s death constitutes a major blow to his country-s democratic movement. Reporter's Notebook: A Comeback for Gary Hart? Revelations of an extramarital affair drove Colorado-s Democratic Senator Gary Hart out of the 1988 presidential race. Since then, he-s practiced law, written extensively, and earned a doctorate at Oxford University. Now, he-s considering another run for the world-s most powerful office, testing the waters in Iowa, New York, Massachusetts and California. Hart shares his thoughts on the Democrats, Iraq, North Korea, and the Middle East.
President Bush has made clear the US will invade Iraq with or without support from the UN Security Council. Even if a Council majority votes for a new resolution, it-s likely that France will veto. With a bitter challenge from within his own party, it-s possible that Tony Blair won-t be able to make Great Britain part of the -coalition of the willing,- though Defense Secretary Rumsfeld says that there are -work-around-s- for that contingency. We consider the diplomatic and military consequences of unilateral action, and whether US defiance of a -No- vote in the Security Council would violate international law, with experts from Tufts University and Johns Hopkins University, the editor of Jane-s World Armies and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the first Gulf War.
  • Making News: Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic Assassinated
    The prime minister of Serbia has been gunned down by assassins in Belgrade. Fifty year-old Zoran Djindjic was a pro-Western reformer who surrendered former President Slobodan Milosevic to the War Crimes Tribunal at The Hague. Zoran Sekulech, editor-in-chief of the independent Fonet News Agency, says Djindjic-s death constitutes a major blow to his country-s democratic movement.
  • Reporter's Notebook: A Comeback for Gary Hart?
    Revelations of an extramarital affair drove Colorado-s Democratic Senator Gary Hart out of the 1988 presidential race. Since then, he-s practiced law, written extensively, and earned a doctorate at Oxford University. Now, he-s considering another run for the world-s most powerful office, testing the waters in Iowa, New York, Massachusetts and California. Hart shares his thoughts on the Democrats, Iraq, North Korea, and the Middle East.

Government of Serbia/Montenegro

Government of France

Government of Great Britain

UN Monitoring, Inspection and Verification Commission (UNMOVIC)

UN Security Council

UN SC Resolution 687 (1991)

UN SC Resolution 1441 (2002)

US Defense Department

Credits

Host:

Warren Olney