Mr. Harold Hodgson’s article “US must not give up on UN” leaves more questions than it proposes to answer. According to him, the US drove democracy out of its foreign policy while the UN affirmed it. But how has the US driven democracy from foreign policy? It hasn’t. Public opinion demonstrates that a clear majority of Americans support military action, if necessary, to dispossess Saddam Hussein of his weapons of mass destruction. According to Gallup polls, since June 2002, a majority of Americans have supported using military force—65% following President Bush’s March 17 address. Doesn’t democracy mean governing as the people desire?

Another question I’m left with is: how did the UN affirm democracy? Mr. Hodgson himself criticizes the UN as undemocratic for allowing vetoes that “nullify the democratic process.” Despite this contradiction, Mr. Hodgson seems enamored with the UN as a global force for democracy. It isn’t. The UN has 191 members; only 15 sit on the Security Council. In the entire UN Charter, all 111 articles, you won’t find a single mention of the word “democracy.” As the UN Charter states, its primary purpose is to maintain peace though collective security.

Preserving peace precisely explains our actions in Iraq. Forget debating whether the UN is democratic; this fact remains: the UN passed 17 resolutions over a 12 year period requiring Saddam to disarm. The most recent resolution promised “serious consequences” for noncompliance and was passed unanimously. When it became apparent that France would prevent the UN from having a free vote on the matter, the US built a coalition of willing countries to enforce the will that the UN has expressed time and time again over the past decade.

Terms for peace following the 1991 Gulf War were clear. Saddam was required to turn over all weapons of mass destruction, forbidden from building more, and prohibited from supporting any form of terrorism. Despite these demands, Saddam refused to account for his weapons and continues to pay $25,000 to families of terrorists who engage in suicide bombings in Israel. Why Mr. Hodgson believes the US to be imperialistic for forcing Saddam to abide by his own promises is beyond me. We are not enforcing only our own will, but what the world has expressed through the UN since 1991. Peace is our objective, and as British Prime Minister Blair said, “Sometimes to keep the peace, you have to fight.”

Eric A. Egger

Abbottstown, PA

This article was originally published in The Evening Sun.