Nowhere did President Bush employ his considerable foreign policy skills to better effect than in the Persian Gulf, where he led an international effort that rolled back Iraq`s criminally audacious conquest of Kuwait.
Bush and others still must exercise adroit, courageous and compassionate leadership, for the region remains perilously unstable. Right now in Iraq, for example, there is evidence of an imminent new offensive against Shiite rebels. Two years ago, the United States and its allies in the United Nations served notice to Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein that his aggressive expansionism could not stand. The UN alliance pitted its military might against Iraq`s, and Kuwait was soon freed.
But Saddam endures as an unreconstructed tyrant who balks at virtually every UN-imposed cease-fire requirement and continues to abuse the Iraqi citizenry.
According to intelligence reports, the regime`s attacks on Shiite Muslims in the marshes of southern Iraq-attacks featuring artillery, helicopters and now fixed-wing aircraft-have intensified so much that Western allies are planning steps to shield them from Baghdad`s onslaught, as was done for the Kurds.
The U.S., Britain, France and other powers are right to want to safeguard the Shiites, whose uprising shortly after the gulf war was put down by the Iraqi army. The UN allies have the authority: UN Resolution 688 bans the Iraqi government from repressing its citizens.
Moreover, trying to blunt Baghdad`s drive against the Shiites is preferable to postponing action until the attacks become intolerable: better to mount a humanitarian intervention sooner rather than later.
Under a plan under discussion at the UN, the allies would declare an
”air-exclusion” or ”no-fly” zone in southern Iraq. Iraqi military aircraft that entered the zone would be liable to attack by an allied craft-probably a U.S., British or French fighter.
It is unclear why Saddam Hussein would risk provoking a dangerous confrontation by stepping up attacks on the Shiites now. Perhaps he believes the political season in the U.S. gives him cover. Maybe he saw a chink in UN resolve during last month`s standoff between inspectors and his Agriculture Ministry, when Iraq won a say in the makeup of the inspection team.
Whatever the case, and despite the West`s natural reluctance to risk restarting hostilities, it is imperative that UN allies continue to stand up to Iraq and enforce the agreement that ended the war. If they don`t, Saddam Hussein will only grow as a menace to the Iraqi people and to the region.
