As U.S. President George W. Bush made his case for action against Iraq, Russian President Vladimir Putin provided ample proof of the danger of acting unilaterally. Last week, Mr. Putin laid out Russia's complaints about Georgia's failure to take action against militants fighting Moscow and asserted Russia's right to attack them as consistent with the right of self-defense enshrined in the United Nations charter. Mr. Putin's letter underscores the importance of obtaining U.N. authorization for any attack on hostile forces. The failure to do so would endorse virtual anarchy throughout the world.

Russia has accused Chechen rebels fighting for independence with a series of attacks against Russian targets. The most heinous act was the bombing of apartment buildings in Moscow that claimed over 300 victims. (There are doubts about who was responsible for those blasts; Moscow has been accused of complicity to provide a pretext for going to war against the militants.) The Russian government has fought the rebels in the Chechen Republic for over four years. The offensive has had mixed success, but the human rights violations committed during the war have indelibly stained Russia's reputation and left a lasting scar on the Chechen psyche.

In a letter to world leaders last week, Mr. Putin argued that Russia's "successful antiterrorist operation" in Chechnya had driven the "remaining fighters" onto Georgian territory, where they operate freely and receive military and financial assistance. Those forces are said to be headquartered in the Pankisi Gorge. Even the U.S. is worried that elements of al-Qaeda are among the militants regrouping in the Gorge. Mr. Putin said that the Georgian government had failed to eliminate the rebels on its own and had failed to take up Russian offers to help. In those circumstances, charged Mr. Putin, unilateral action by Russia was fully within its rights. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov has said that his military is ready to begin attacks in Georgia.