Should Republicans go ahead and add Supreme Court Justices to head off Democrats

Events in Baghdad and elsewhere show the irrelvance of the UN

Telegraph Editorial:

The killing of more than 150 people in Baghdad yesterday threw into stark relief the irrelevance of the United Nations. The mass murder of civilians on the streets of the capital took place a day after the General Assembly had failed to resolve differences on what constitutes a terrorist act, thus preventing agreement on a comprehensive anti-terrorism convention before the UN's 60th anniversary summit. With their eye on the Palestinian struggle for statehood, countries such as Egypt and Pakistan had argued that recourse to violence by the "freedom fighter" was legitimate. Putting the opposing case to the assembly yesterday, George W Bush and Tony Blair rightly condemned all attacks on civilians and non-combatants, whatever the cause or grievance. It is depressing to see allies of the United States seeking to justify certain acts of terrorism, particularly as they themselves have suffered from this scourge.

The UN further underlined its irrelevance by making no mention of non-proliferation and disarmament in its "outcome document". Following the impasse at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference in May, the absence of consensus was hardly surprising. But it says little for the assembly's sense of responsibility that it remained silent on the greatest threat to world security, particularly if weapons of mass destruction get into terrorist hands. Kofi Annan, the secretary-general, called the omission inexcusable.

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...In 2002, Mr Bush told the UN that it would become irrelevant if it failed to face up to the threat posed by Saddam Hussein. Three years on, with a different set of challenges, it still has to grasp the truth of that warning.

Roggio analysis:

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Zarqawi's terror campaign achieves its desired effect. Coalition successes in northern and westerner Iraq are overshadowed by the gruesome images of mass casualty assaults. Suicide bombs are a show of force, but not a measure of al Qaeda's power. al Qaeda has neither the popular support, the skill nor the means to govern in Iraq. Its real power lies in the ability to create fear. But the Iraqi people have not given in to fear, rendering al Qaeda's only weapon ineffective.

As the Iraqi government is not ready to provide for its own security, it is dependent on the United States for vital assistance. Therefore, al Qaeda's only hope of success in Iraq is to destroy the will of the American public and create the conditions for a hasty withdrawal. They are deftly manipulating our own media in an attempt to accomplish this goal. Zarqawi depends on the fact that the Western media will give his terrorist attacks top billing while regulating successful Coalition operations such as Tal Afar to the back pages, or support the cause by subtlely portraying American soldiers as criminals or thugs.

The terrorists continue to lose ground to the Coalition, and despite the inaccurate reports of terrorists "melting away" as opposed to fighting in Tal Afar, they have suffered serious casualties. Col. Robert B. Brown, commander of the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division's Stryker Brigade Combat Team, states that al Qaeda has been seriously degraded in northern Iraq. Eighty percent of the network has been killed or captured. Sixty to seventy percent of the terrorist killed were foreigners. Most terrorists are now in their mid-teens, and inexperienced. Mortar attacks are down from three hundred a month to six.

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