With vote on sanctions, renewed unity at the UN

The historic vote at the UN Security Council Thursday lifting 13 years of economic sanctions on Iraq paves the way for the long-troublesome country's return as a peaceful member of the international community.

The 14-to-0 vote, which fell just shy of the 15-to-0 "vote of consensus" the US had sought, signals a new era of international cooperation on Iraq. And, perhaps of greatest short-term importance for Iraqis, it means that billions of dollars in oil revenues will be disbursed as part of the nation's daunting reconstruction.

Praising the Council that just weeks ago was bitterly divided over war in Iraq, John Negroponte, the US ambassador to the UN, said the action allows for a "robust" international participation in Iraq's rebuilding.

With President Bush heading to Europe next week to meet with several of the world leaders who most adamantly opposed the war, the US keenly sought a show of renewed cooperation on Iraq. (Only Syria didn't vote for the resolution. Its representative was not present for the vote.) Setting the tone, Mr. Negroponte emphasized "the constructive spirit with which the Council has considered and strengthened the resolution."

Representatives of what are called in UN shorthand the "losing ambassadors" in the Iraq war debate sounded a more subdued enthusiasm for the measure. They stressed the benefit that lifting sanctions would have for the Iraqi people and the opening it creates for the international community to join in reconstruction.

French UN Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sablière called the resolution "not perfect" but said it is a "credible framework" that will allow the international community to "lend support" to the postwar effort in Iraq. In what some saw as a dig at America's postwar results so far, he made a particular point of noting that disorder continues in Iraq while services are lacking.

The resolution grants unprecedented power to the US and Britain to manage Iraq for at least a year. It also allows the two countries to determine the process of establishing a future Iraqi government.

While the long-term global impact of the move will be debated for months, the resolution has the immediate effect of opening escrow accounts holding more than $3 billion dollars in oil revenues for spending. It also puts the US in charge of revitalizing the oil sector.

"This allows some breathing room for Iraq in general and some clarity both for spending existing funds and for how the crucial oil sector will be administered," says David Phillips, an analyst at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

Most immediately, "a pile of money in escrow accounts [held by the UN] will be spent honoring existing contracts and addressing humanitarian needs," he says. Beyond that, "this opens the way for putting the oil sector back on its feet and back generating the revenues the country needs."

Page: 1 | 2