Arab News Editorial

The unanimous support for last night’s UN Security resolution on Iraq is the first time since the invasion that the outside world has spoken with one voice on the country’s future. It must be hoped that this is the start a continuous process which will give Iraqis the backing and strength to seize their own destiny and rebuild their country as a peaceful and pluralist state.

The Americans and British maintain that they could always have won a vote on a pure majority but wanted to hammer out a deal that would have the backing of all 15 council delegations, including the three other permanent members, France, China and Russia. It is clear that there has been a very great deal of talking behind the scenes. The subtle adjustments to the wording of the resolution are however less important than the understandings that have been reached among world leaders, understandings which hopefully be reinforced at the G-8 Summit this week in Savannah, Georgia.

The compromises that have been made have come from both sides. President Bush’s administration has come a long way from its assertive mood of a year ago. Washington has had to accept that Iraq is not the straightforward task it fantasized. The French meanwhile, who have been most consistent in their criticism of Washington and by extension coalition policy, have accepted that there is no further point in saying what is wrong. Now is the time step in and see what can be done better.

Nevertheless, it is already being argued that even with this vote, Paris and Moscow are not prepared to become more involved. It must be hoped that this is wrong. The only solution that is going to work is one that is multilateral. There really is no room for political game playing. Iraq needs the united support of every country, not least to achieve the key objective of reinforcing the standing of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi’s interim government between the handover at the end of this month and elections now expected in December 2005.

As the political process gathers pace, the security situation, dire though it still is, will assume a secondary importance. The men of violence who are struggling to destabilize Iraq have flourished in the power vacuum caused by the coalition occupation and its endless blunders. Their very existence is challenged by the emergence of a workable political consensus among Iraqis themselves. The killing will not stop and the violence may even increase. The hope must now be, however, that as long as Iraqis stay resolute and the international community stands firmly behind them, the resentment against an unchecked, ill-prepared and ill-informed occupation force which has been the main reason for the violence will ebb away.