STORY OF THE WEEK Frame 2

This picture was taken at the UN two weeks ago. It shows Colin Powell, the U.S. secretary of state, conferring with Jack Straw, Great Britain's foreign secretary. Mr. Powell went to the UN to hear a debate about whether Iraq should be invaded. He heard representatives from France and Germany say the UN should allow the weapons inspectors several more months to search Iraq, and that another vote should be taken in the Security Council to authorize or reject an Iraq invasion. The Security Council has 15 members. It is charged with overseeing world security, trying to bring peace to warring nations, and authorizing UN troops to act as peacekeeping soldiers. There are five permanent members of the council -- the U.S., Russia, France, China, and Great Britain. A veto by any one of these five nations is usually enough to stop an action. So far, the U.S.'s only committed ally on the Security Council is Great Britain.

Mr. Powell told the UN that it had a responsibility to act against Iraq - and quickly. He believes the UN inspectors are being misled by Saddam Hussein. He says he has lost faith in the search because the inspectors aren't sure themselves whether Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction. He also says the U.S. will soon demand that its allies, or friends, back the U.S. position for invasion. Do you think it's good or bad that Mr. Powell is making these statements? Do you think he will be able to convince the U.S.'s allies to back the U.S. against Iraq? Explain your answers.

Frames: 1 2 3 Story Quiz

For more on Iraq, see page 591 of Our World and 596 of Our Nation.

For more on the United Nations, see pages 567 and 568 of Our Nation and page A10 of Our World.

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