The U.N.'s Fallujah Folly

In an extraordinary letter to the leaders of the United States, Great Britain, and Iraq, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan wrote of his concern at "reports of major military offensives being planned by the multinational force in key localities such as Falluja." (Find excerpts of Annan's letter here.) Annan cautioned that,

The threat or actual use of force not only risks deepening the sense of alienation of certain communities, but would also reinforce perceptions among the Iraqi population of a continued military occupation… This is the moment for redoubling efforts to break the cycle of violence and open a new chapter of inclusiveness and national reconciliation. more....