The three victims of the Second Gulf War

When the Americans and the British decided to attack Iraq, they posed a serious threat to the international equilibrium and to global security. The first "victims" of the international system appeared even before the beginning of the war. Those victims placed new obligations and new frameworks in the international community. The first victim was the credibility of the United Nations, the second was the relationship between Europe and the United States, and the third was the relationship between the countries of the European Union that were profoundly divided in this debate.

From its establishment in 1945, the United Nations has gone through various phases. The Cold War politics did not allow it to grow into the strong organization it was meant to be, mainly due to the unanimity that is required in the Security Council in order to make a decision or adopt a resolution. It was impossible to have unanimity at all times among the permanent and temporary members of the Council. The United Nations always expressed an opinion, but unfortunately nobody would listen.

Nevertheless, in the past decade the United Nations managed to reestablish its credibility in international relations, more specifically after the collapse of the existing socialism. The evolution of the latest events and the marginalization of the United Nations by the United States in the issue of Iraq have destroyed the efforts for bringing back this credibility. I believe that the United Nations is a very important organization for the conduct of international relations and of course for the protection of the small and poor countries of the system. Therefore, the global community has to work to reestablish the credibility and the effectiveness of the United Nations.

The second victim was the relationship between America and Europe that was threatened from the very first instance of this debate. The ties of friendship, cooperation, and reciprocal assistance have existed for many decades now. The current version was created after two world wars and survived through the Cold War era. After all, America's dream according to Eisenhower in 1951 was to see some form of a United States of Europe as sister to the United States of America.

The Europeans have always believed that the reality between the United States and the European Union was one of mutual respect, alliance, common interests, and collective security. Those factors do not exist anymore in the degree that they did before the Second Gulf War: the relation of equality in alliance has been transformed by the United States into a relation of submission -- one that was expressed by President Bush as either with us or against us. For this reason, France reacted the way it did to a new war against Iraq. France never approved the omnipotence of the United States in the world. Moreover, in the aftermath of the war and the American domination in the area, the American arrogance would become greater than before with respect to the European Union.

At the same time that the war threatened the existence of the transatlantic relations, some European countries and many countries awaiting accession into the Union aligned with the American position on the issue and congratulated the American practices in the region. This evolution has created the third victim: a new cleavage in the relations among the European countries. The difference of opinion among them demonstrated a crisis in the Union and its inability to obtain a common position in issues of foreign affairs and security. At the time, the differences in confronting the Iraqi issue among them placed a great risk in the unity of Europe and created some deep chasms in the process of integration. Therefore, the European Union needs to find a working mechanism to stand up for itself in the global arena and detach itself from the protection of the United States.

One can say that the Second Gulf War created many different "conflicts" around the world. Many people believe that the actual invasion was a mere issue between the United States and Iraq. Nevertheless, the problems that evolved after this conflict have extended to the transatlantic relations, the European relations, and have destroyed part of the valuable credibility of the United Nations. As a consequence, this war might have managed to resolve one problem -- Saddam Hussein -- but it has created numerous others that will dominate the future of international political scene. The victims did not result from the actual physical casualties -- that continue to increase to this day -- but also from the injured trust among powerful actors of the world.

Theofanis Exadaktylos is a senior majoring in International Relations and Economics