Articles About the U.S. War on Iraq,

¶ … articles about the U.S. war on Iraq, both taken non-U.S. newspapers. The articles, one Canadian, and one from Australia, are clearly critical of the U.S.'s attempts to instigate military action on Iraq. This may reflect a growing worldwide opinion the U.S. has no right to bring the world to war by insisting on military action against Iraq.

In an article entitled "Trigger-happy U.S. checked by UN safety catch," Journalist Marian Wilkinson delves into the U.S. war on Iraq. Published in the Sydney Morning Herald, this Australian article starts with the note that the United States and Britain "quietly ditched" a hard-line draft of a resolution on Iraq before that resolution made it to the United Nation's (UN) Security Council negotiating table. The article notes that the initial hard-line resolution would have "committed the United Nations Security Council to a military strike on Iraq within weeks."

Wilkinson notes that the French felt the resolution provided unlimited approval to military action, and their objections were crucial in causing the U.S. And Britain to ditch the resolution. She then describes the U.S.'s changes in rhetoric following the decision to ditch the resolution. Specifically, she notes that a White House spokesman began to talk about negotiations and diplomatic conversations dealing with the Iraqi threat.

Wilkinson notes that the majority of the world, excepting Britain, Australia, Israel and some small states, does not support the U.S.'s proposed war on Iraq. The article then discusses the efforts of weapons inspectors in Iraq, and concludes that the U.S. intends to press for war against Iraq, with or without the support of the Security Council.

This article clearly holds a negative position on proposed war against Iraq. The words used to describe the United States and the proposed actions against Iraq are almost exclusively negative: Wilkinson describes the U.S. As "trigger happy," President Bush's statements as "rhetoric" and refers to "America's helter-skelter race to war."

Hugh Winsor's article "The experts' case against waging war on Iraq," published in The Globe and Mail, takes a largely negative view of the proposed war on Iraq. This Canadian article deals largely with the foreign policy abilities of Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien. While noting Chretien's tarnished reputation as a diplomat, the article also provides an insight into intelligence and security experts opinions on the proposed war in Iraq. In large, the experts are against military action in Iraq.

First, Winsor notes the experts' opinion that Iraq does not currently propose a threat, which is in direct opposition to the U.S. And Britain's assertions. The experts argue that while Iraq may have weapons of mass destruction, there appears to be no evidence of their intent to use them. The experts argue that Iraq would likely only use the weapons as a last resort, perhaps after an attack, the U.S.'s proposed military action ironically seem to be the only situation which may provoke Iraq to use their weapons.