1441

The UN Security council passed Resolution 1441 unanimously on November 8, 2002, extending Saddam Hussein's government "a final opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations" as set out in ten* previous resolutions. They were required to provide "an accurate full, final, and complete disclosure of all aspects, as required by Resolution 687 (1991), of its programmes to develop weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles". The most noteworthy sentence declared "serious consequences" if the conditions were not met.

"Serious consequences" were metered out March 20, 2003.

I could go into the warning issued September, 12, 2002, to Saddam in front of the UN General Assembly, but that's not the point of this piece; it's about defining US terminology in international diplomacy. When we say serious consequences, we mean it. Do we have the spine to finish what we've began?

* - Resolution 660, Resolution 661, Resolution 678, Resolution 686, Resolution 687, Resolution 688, Resolution 707, Resolution 715, Resolution 986, and Resolution 1284