March 12, 2003: USA Suffers Serious Defeat in the UN

1. As a concession especially to the government of Great Britain, the USA dropped the designated day of attack March 13 and supported a second UN resolution. This resolution was to contain a March 17 ultimatum to Iraq. But the steps demanded of Iraq by the 17th were impracticable. It was obvious that the intended resolution only served to legitimate the aggression against Iraq.
US President Bush boastfully announced he would force the UN Security Council to vote on Tuesday, March 11, at the latest, on the new resolution introduced by the USA and Great Britain, and promised to gain a clear majority for that. This manoeuvre miserably failed. The two great powers Russia and France announced their veto; there is no majority in the UN Security Council. One more time, the superpower USA had to experience that the majority of the countries of the world is not ready to will-lessly swallow the US claim to world domination.

2. The USA underestimated the growing will for peace of the world masses and the active resistance across national borders. Now they see their plans for war acutely endangered.
In the face of the mass protests inside the country, the Turkish parliament refused to consent to the deployment of 62,000 US troops that are scheduled to open up the northern front and are therefore needed for the planned war on two fronts. In Great Britain the Blair government is completely isolated, and the hope is that it will not survive its participation in the war.

3.

So the USA is in a dilemma:
If it ignores the UN decision because it is not convenient to it, this will make the UN even more of a farce. A war against the declared desire of the overwhelming majority of the masses of the workers and peoples of the world would demand a high political price: the USA reveals itself to be the main warmonger and main enemy of the peoples of the world!
On the other hand, politically it can not afford the setback in front of the world public of simply withdrawing its troops with hundreds of thousands of soldiers. The USA economically depends on installing its political and economic predomination in the Middle East. 

4.

The militant international peace movement has become an immense factor. But to prevent war, active resistance has to be increased. The European Trade Union Confederation calls for walkouts beginning at 10 minutes to noon on March 14 that should be used to set a clear signal for active resistance. Large mass demonstrations will take place all over the world on March 15. A good opportunity to show international solidarity again.