OPINION

Timid backing

Let us assume that the old maxim «show me your friends and I’ll tell you who you are» applies in the case of the US-led «coalition for the immediate disarmament of Iraq.» When the Americans realized that they couldn’t extract a second resolution from the UN approving a war in Iraq, they embraced a so-called «coalition of the willing» – a group of countries willing to accept violence as the only law. In keeping with this, US Secretary of State Colin Powell appeared and proudly announced that it is not only the Spanish and British premiers Aznar and Blair who have been convinced but a total of 45 nations. (The fact that the remaining 150 countries across the globe remain unmoved does not appear to be of particular concern to him.) But this is the first time in the history of mankind that members of a so-called alliance – 15 of them to be precise – have appealed for their participation to remain anonymous. Only the US authorities can know about it, no one else. This means that one in three states in this ungodly «coalition» is ashamed of the very stance it has adopted and refuses to accept responsibility for the probable repercussions. The most plausible explanation for this is that they remain unconvinced, not only of the ethics of the campaign, but also of its logic. But in order not to upset the world’s only superpower – and risk being added to a list of «rogue states» – and to ensure they are not excluded from any share of the spoils of victory once the war is over, they have declare their presence. What valor!

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