The US attack on Iraq and its success has demonstrated the overwhelming military superiority of the United States. It has not demonstrated that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, or that he had links with al-Qaeda. It has so far not demonstrated either that the United States is as expert in the arts of construction and rebuilding as it is in the sullen craft of destruction and killing.
But it has marginalized the United Nations and what, at least on paper, it represents: the peaceful resolution of disputes through international mediation, and the use of force only when necessary and sanctioned by the international community.
The US
