Eleven years ago, Iraq invaded Kuwait and set in motion a series of events that would culminate in the Persian Gulf War. The U.N. coalition drove the invader from Kuwait and humiliated the once-vaunted Iraqi war machine. But in the decade since that defeat, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has retaken the political initiative, the coalition that prosecuted the war has disintegrated and hopes for a new multilateral world order have evaporated. The United Nations won the Persian Gulf War, but it is fair to ask whether it has lost the peace.
Few would have predicted that Mr. Hussein would still be in power 11 years after he was so roundly trounced by the U.S.-led coalition. Unfortunately, the wily dictator is more entrenched than ever. His hold on power has been strengthened, he has eliminated most of the opposition to his rule and he has eviscerated virtually all that remains. Iraq is still considered to be a menace to its neighbors.
While Mr. Hussein's nuclear weapons program has been destroyed, efforts to develop other weapons of mass destruction continue. Not only is Iraq continuing its running battle with the U.N. and its two chief backers, the United States and Britain, over inspections, but Baghdad seems to be winning. International public opinion is shifting. Now the West is seen as the villain and the cause of Iraq's suffering. The governments in Washington and London are looking for face-saving strategies to repeal the sanctions regime.