US-IRAQ: THE POST WAR DILEMMA

Is it still possible to reintegrate the world's hyper-power into a truly multilateral, multipolar arrangement? asks Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1992-1996.

It is the US, and the US alone, that has the ability to choose between unilateralism and multilateralism, at its whim, writes the author in this article for IPS, noting that in the eyes of the American neo-imperialists, multilateralism it merely a manifestation of the powerlessness of weak states who have no choice but to ally themselves with each other to try and counterbalance American dominance.

It is important at this time that we examine the arguments for a multilateralism grounded in international law. The author warns that there is real reason to fear that terrorism will be used as the predominant motivation for all international action at a time when we should be directing our political will, energy, and resources entirely towards peace, development, and the fight against poverty.

(This is an excerpt from the article. Editors interested in acquiring the full text of these columns, please contact romacol@ips.org specifying the name and address of the publication as well as a proposed rate. Unfortunately, we cannot comply with requests from individuals or organisations that do not represent media outlets.)