The invasion of Iraq destroyed the regime of Saddam Hussein, as it was intended to do, but did it also mark the beginning of the end for the United Nations? Is the UN of any use at all in a world in which a single country towers over all others in military, political and economic clout, and is bent on having its own way? For some people the UN Security Council's apparent reluctance to enforce its own resolutions against Iraq was a disgrace. For others the diplomatic arm-twisting and public posturing in the council this spring by the United States was a sordid spectacle that ended with America and Britain brushing the council aside and launching an invasion without a second resolution. However the Iraq episode is viewed, the UN'S standing has taken a beating. The bombing of the organisation's Baghdad offices last month casts an ominous shadow over its attempts to play a useful role in Iraq, though, paradoxically, it may also have encouraged a tentative rapprochement between America and its Security Council critics. Does the UN have a future?
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