In such cases, troops are provided only while remaining under the national command authority of the nation that provides them, though perhaps operating within a command structure headed by a general of some other member state among those providing troops -- generally the largest of such states. In cases of this sort, which characteristic of larger United Nations-authorized interventions, such as the first Gulf War in 1991, the United Nations has no operational authority at all. Viewed from a strictly military perspective, such interventions are indistinguishable from a non-United Nations intervention, as by an ad-hoc coalition.

However, while all of the above points are technically correct, they are too narrowly focused on the purely military aspects of an intervention. The true role of the United Nations is exercised in the all-important political dimension of an intervention. In many respects this political dimension comes most to the fore in the latter stages of an intervention, when the military situation has been brought under control and the process of reconstruction must begin. However, the most important role of the United Nations is one that is felt from the very outset of an intervention: the role of international legitimization of an intervention action. The United Nations Charter provided the Security Council with the authority to "to impose, and r

This has been very nearly the case in the current war in Iraq. Although the US news media speak grandly of a "Coalition" -- a term that evokes the first Gulf War of 1991 -- the only significant military contingent, apart from the American forces, is British. Some Australian special forces are involved, and purely token representation from a handful of other countries. While the British contribution is substantial, even it is somewhat in the nature of a fig leaf over what is effectively a unilateral American action. In short, the United States has the means to invade Iraq and depose the Saddam Hussein regime, and is militarily capable of doing so whether it has any support from other countries or not.

The Concept of International Legitimization

This financial dimension aside, the important and fundamental thing about the first Gulf War is that it was not, in its political dimension, an "American war." It was a global effort. Authorized by United Nations Security Council resolutions, it was carried out by a coalition of nations from within the Middle East region and around the world, including major regional and global powers.

In any case, cooperation was half-hearted, and the United States has in fact invaded Iraq, in spite of failing to secure a follow-up resolution authorizing the use of force. It may be argued -- and with considerable validity -- that the United Nations has been substantially weakened by this entire series of transactions. The Americans secured a United Nations mandate for renewed inspections,