A World Shaken Up

THE Anglo-American action in Iraq, to which the Arab terrorist attack on September 11 was the prolegomenon, is likely to rank as the first important event of the 21st century. The reasons are twofold, the first negative, the second positive.

The action, and responses to it, brought to the surface the need for fundamental change in various international organizations. The first is the United Nations, an omnium-gatherum of states whose permanent membership on the General Assembly and whose periodic membership on the Security Council is automatic without any regard to their qualifications. Thus military dictatorships, gangster-run states, and failed states overrun by terrorists have voting rights as valid as those exercised by law-abiding states that have succeeded in making democracy work and abided by the rule of law.

About the Author

Paul Johnson

Mr. Johnson is a prominent author and historian.

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THE Anglo-American action in Iraq, to which the Arab terrorist attack on September 11 was the prolegomenon, is likely to rank as the first important event of the 21st century. The reasons are twofold, the first negative, the second positive.

The action, and responses to it, brought to the surface the need for fundamental change in various international organizations. The first is the United Nations, an omnium-gatherum of states whose permanent membership on the General Assembly and whose periodic membership on the Security Council is automatic without any regard to their qualifications. Thus military dictatorships, gangster-run states, and failed states overrun by terrorists have voting rights as valid as those exercised by law-abiding states that have succeeded in making democracy work and abided by the rule of law.