The problem that U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney had in getting Arab support for military action against Iraq, during his recent foray into the Middle East, is another reminder that Iraq�s fate should rest with the international community, not the imperial aims of the United States.

The need for a global approach to Saddam Hussein�s regime is again surfacing at the United Nations, which should take the lead in resolving the problem, and rebuff U.S. attempts to impose its political agenda on the world body.

Arab leaders are rejecting military action against Iraq, which the U.S. has been trying to initiate as part of its murky war on terrorism.

Russian Foreign Minister Egor Evanov, in a recent letter to the UN Security Council, said Russia favors a diplomatic solution regarding UN resolutions toward Iraq. Russia also welcomes continuing dialogue between Iraq and the UN and hopes Iraqi implementation of the Security Council resolutions will lead to lifting a decade-old embargo.

German officials, speaking from the European Union summit, said existing UN resolutions do not cover an "attack" on Iraq. Deputy government spokeswoman Charina Reinhardt warned any expansion of operations against a "rogue state" would need UN approval for Germany to take part.

Analysts say it is clear that President George W. Bush will need to make a separate push through the United Nations to persuade Iraq to allow the return of the UN weapons inspectors, who left the country in 1998. Iraq was ordered to destroy its weapons of mass destruction and allow UN inspectors to verify that it had obeyed the UN mandate, following its ill-fated war on Kuwait. But a decade after the Gulf War, some feel UN resolutions need to be clarified in order to resolve problems.

"The December 1999 resolution has to be changed and clarified on steps inspectors and Iraq have to take to get the sanctions suspended, or it would be impossible to see inspectors in Iraq," Russian diplomat Sergei Lavrov told reporters.

It is believed, that when renewal of the sanctions against Iraq comes up before the United Nations in May, Iraq will be badgered to allow arms inspectors access to all suspected weapons sites. Should Baghdad not agree to the tiniest clause, it will be threatened with war.

Iraq and the United Nations will continue low-level talks as top Iraqi officials return to New York in April to continue discussions with Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Sir Jeremy Greenstock, British ambassador to the UN, recently told reporters, "The continuation of talks was a hopeful sign, but Iraq could be stalling for time because of the American threat."

But the issue isn�t the American threat, or hawks in the Pentagon, or poll watchers who know a U.S. president fighting a war enjoys tremendous political capital and power. The issue is how to have Iraq begin to re-enter the international community and end the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians caused by sanctions.

It would seem that Secretary General Kofi Annan, as the voice and leader of the United Nations, could have a key role in a proper resolution of the UN-Iraq conflict.

Some observers argue Mr. Annan is the only one with a global moral authority to persuade and pressure the major powers. With Security Council backing of the Secretary General�s office, Mr. Annan could embark on a bold, courageous and imaginative peace mission, they say.

Sadly, however, Mr. Annan does not seem to share that leadership vision. When asked by a reporter March 13, if he had any authority or mandate to move his dialogue with Iraq from discussions to negotiations, he said: "If there is going to be anything else, I think it will have to be done by the Council. My mandate is clear, I am basing my discussions on the Council resolutions and not beyond that."