Bush must tell UN why Saddam must go – but not seek its approval for doing so

Opponents of President Bush’s policy of effecting regime change in Iraq have increasingly coalesced around the idea that the United States must secure the assent of the United Nations Security Council before doing anything about Saddam Hussein.

While some claim this step would legitimate and facilitate redress of the danger posed by Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction — as one put it "The road to Baghdad is through New York" — the reality is very different: The road to the Security Council is a dead end, and is favored by many precisely for that reason.

Even if, against all odds, the Security Council does throw down the gauntlet to Saddam, he is virtually certain to allow intrusive inspections to resume rather than giving the U.S. a pretext for internationally supported action against him.

To his credit, President Bush seems to have maintained the steadiness of purpose that has generally characterized his performance as Commander-in-Chief since Sept. 11. As he prepares to address the U.N. this week about the nature of the war on terrorism that formally began on that day, he needs to make clear that the U.S. will not allow itself to be coerced into a U.N. cul-de-sac, or worse.

He can ensure that we have maximum international support by, instead, making it clear that the U.S. has the capability, the will and the determination to act, if necessary, alone to prevent Saddam Hussein from metastasizing into a for more dangerous threat to all of us.

Click here for Center for Security Policy President Frank Gaffney’s FoxNews.com column, "US Can Stand Alone Against Iraq."