Nile Gardiner

Unlike the 1991 Persian Gulf War, the 2003 war on Iraq that toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein was not fought under the auspices of the United Nations. However, some observers have argued that the international organization should take a leading role in administering the country after the war until a new Iraqi government is established. In the following viewpoint Nile Gardiner argues against making the United Nations responsible for governing Iraq. The organization’s failure to enforce its resolutions calling for Iraqi disarmament have undermined its credibility, he contends. The countries that led the 2003 war, especially America and Great Britain, should oversee Iraq, he concludes, and the United Nations should limit its role to humanitarian projects. Gardiner is a visiting research scholar at the Heritage Foundation, a...