Why the US Needs the UN

Pepe Escobar of the Asia Times explains why the US will need the UN for Iraq. Washington won't need the UN for the assault, but it "will definitely need the international community for the mopping-up business of post-Saddam. Powell himself put it succinctly; the US would like to internationalize the intervention as much as possible, because later 'there will be too much work to do'. This is a basic tenet of the Bush doctrine: America bombs, and the rest of the world picks up the pieces."

To clarify, Escobar writes, "Washington hawks don't need and certainly don't want the UN to get inside Iraq. They may need the UN to get out. But who said they will want to get out?"