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Editorial: From Japan and Italy on U.N.-Iraq Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo on war in Iraq If the United States now pursues the use of military force, no nation or international organization can stop it. That is the unvarnished reality. If there is a way to avoid a war, it is by the combination of Saddam Hussein destroying all Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and stepping down. If there is an attack without a U.N. Security Council resolution, prestige of the United Nations would be shaken. The effect of that on the world would be vastly greater than during the air strikes on former Yugoslavia by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which were also carried out without a Security Council authorization. If Saddam Hussein's resignation averts war, the people of Iraq have hope for peace. In addition, there may be a way to establish a new government in Iraq with the cooperation of Iraqi people and the United Nations. During a recent Arab League meeting, Persian Gulf nations recommended Saddam Hussein resign and go into exile under a grant of immunity from criminal prosecution. U.S. President George W. Bush has also encouraged exile. War must be avoided to prevent a wider rift between the Muslim world and the United States. We hope Saddam Hussein will decide to follow the advice. *** Corriere della Sera, Milan, Italy on Italy's predicament in the United Nations In the next few days, the Security Council will vote on the second Iraq resolution. If the United States is defeated by not receiving the necessary nine votes, it will attack Iraq anyway and the authority of the U.N. will receive a devastating blow. If, instead, the United States obtains the nine necessary votes, France will veto the resolution, but the war will break out anyway and the trans-Atlantic community will break down. In a worst-case scenario, what should Italy do? Italy cannot allow itself to break with the French and Germans, cracking the European Union in order to save its friendship with the United States. But it also cannot take the opposite choice, favoring France in its delusions of omnipotence and an independent Europe, since Europe has no military resources nor a general political strategy. It's clear what Italy's national interests are and it's equally clear that Italy will have trouble consistently pursuing them. Italy is caught between a public that favors peace, a Catholic world that interferes with politics from a religious point of view, a government majority with anti-European components and post-Communist opposition that is strongly in favor of Europe. In this predicament Italy's political leadership may not be able to live up to the country's international role. End Editorial Rdp LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -