The President struck a lot of people as looking tired and haggard at the press conference the other night. Andrew Sullivan said "The spin is that he was trying to look calm and reassuring. I just thought he looked wiped."
I have to agree. Tired and sad. Weary of the diplomatic tapdancing. And ready to have it be over with. Also ready to make France sleep in the bed it has made for itself. Another Sullivan excerpt:
You have to admire his faith in the sincerity of his opponents. Alas, it's pretty clear by now that the French, Germans and Russians simply don't care if Saddam is flouting the U.N. They just don't want American military power exercized in the region - ever again. I doubt if they had videotape of Saddam making anthrax in his bathrobe that they'd agree to enforce their own resolution. I still think forcing a vote is the right thing to do, even if we lose badly. After these past few weeks, watching the extraordinary duplicity and blindness of several Security Council members, I've reluctantly come to the verge of hoping that this crisis helps destroy the United Nations as a credible international body.
Andrew's only "on the verge" of hoping that. Many others are long since convinced that the U.N. is already dead as a credible body. I'm not there just yet, but I do believe that our mission is no less necessary, moral or legitimate if we pursue it without the approval of countries whose interests oppose ours because they are simply doing too much business with the dictator, and perhaps fear potential blackmail.
Update: See also David Gelernter's take in the new Weekly Standard
Posted by dan at March 8, 2003 12:51 AM