U.N. Hops on Board, Belatedly

It appears clear that a new resolution will pass the U.N.’s security council within the next few days, giving U.N. approval to the occupation of Iraq. The administration seems to have bargained pretty effectively so far, and it doesn’t appear that the resolution will significantly compromise the effort to bring stability to Iraq.
The odd man out is Kofi Annan, who has kept up a stream of bitter comments about the U.S.-led effort to bring peace and democracy to that tormented nation. Annan cares nothing about Iraq, and everything about his own prestige.
At this point, the U.N. has relatively little to offer. The countries that place stock in that organization as a surrogate for power they cannot, in fact, deploy–like France and Russia–have a choice between getting on board and getting out of the game. They will get on board. But all they have to offer is money and, in some instances, a few peacekeeping troops. Let’s hope the administration holds out for a reasonable amount of cold cash as a quid pro quo for pretending that the members of the Security Council are still Great Powers.