As a possible war with Iraq approaches, the international community has mixed reactions.
On Tuesday it was announced that more troops will in fact be deployed to the gulf region. Currently, there are approximately 215,000 troops ready for combat, and another 60,0000 were sent in the most recent deployment.
“We’re dealing with Iraq because the dictator of Iraq has got weapons of mass destruction and he’s used weapons of mass destruction on his own people,” President George Bush said, according to CNN. “He can’t stand America.”
Reservations for war came from Arab leaders on March 2. The Arab League held a meeting in which they came criticized support for war expressed by nations such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The League finally reached a proposal, after several arguments in which Egyptian television cut the broadcast. “The Arab League, in cooperation with the United Nations Secretary-General, should supervise the situation in Iraq for an interim period during which all necessary measures are taken in order to return the situation according to the will of the brotherly Iraqi people,” according to CNN’s copy of the proposal.
The United States seems to be moving forward with the war. “I don’t think anybody should have the opinion that this is going to be antiseptic, that it will be just like Desert Storm was or just like the Kosovo air campaign. It could be different than that, and we’ve got to make ourselves ready,” Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Richard Meyers said according to CNN.
The United States may find it very difficult to wage a war without support from the community, and specifically the United Nations. The United States has attempted again to pass a second resolution to wage war with Iraq pending violation of weapons arms inspection policies. In order for the resolution to pass, the United States must gain the support of the nine nations which serve on the Security Council.
The war with Iraq is also hitting the European economy hard. On March 5, Europe reported the lowest closing stock prices for shares in six years. “The war is at the front of everyone’s mind,” Head of Strategy and Research at CDC Ixis Asset Management in Paris Roland Lescure said to CNN.
As economics fail across the globe, Secretary of State Colin Powell will again be seeking support for a U.N. resolution. As support drop across the nations, issues at home are not much better.
Across the nation, students participated in protests on Wednesday, deemed “books not bombs.”
The protests were sponsored by National Youth and Student Peace Coalition. They follow on the heels of various protests in cities such as San Francisco, Washington, and New York. Further protests are likely to continue as the relations with Iraq and the world intensify. All sides continue to debate the war and its implications.
Tanner can be reached at rtanner@campustimes.org.
