Report: Iraq war hurt world order --U.N., EU 'wounded' as U.S. faces aftermath, group says

By DON MELVIN The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

LONDON -- The world must now confront the many threats it faces from the Middle East to Asia to the Americas with a system of international relationships that has been gravely damaged by the crisis in Iraq, according to a respected London-based policy group that published its annual survey of world affairs Tuesday.

A number of institutions, including the United Nations and the European Union, "have been left badly wounded by the course and nature of the Iraq crisis," said John Chipman, director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, which produced the 354-page report.

The relationship between the United States and much of Europe, Chipman added, is "urgently in need of some repair."

And despite the military victory, the success of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq has yet to be determined, he said. The perception of the operation's legitimacy may hinge largely on whether the political reconstruction of Iraq is successful and whether the operation appears to have helped the campaign against terrorism, he said.

The report blames both the United States and Europe for the breakdown of the trans-Atlantic working relationship. The United States became obsessed with substance -- regime change and disarmament -- at the expense of process, or diplomacy, the report contends. Major European powers became obsessed with process at the expense of substance, it says.

The report singles out Secretary of State Colin Powell for criticism regarding the failed U.S. effort to build a serious international coalition.

"Before the first Gulf War, then-Secretary of State James Baker engaged in near-constant diplomacy -- making 39 visits in five major overseas missions to sign up allies and make the case for war," the report said. "During the run-up to war in February and March 2003, Secretary of State Colin Powell made only a few short foreign trips, none to key capitals in Europe or the Middle East."

Before the war, media reports suggested an internal debate raged inside the Bush administration over how vigorously to pursue diplomacy, pitting Powell against hawks like Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who had little patience for negotiation. Administration officials at the time denied there was a disagreement on the strategy.

The report and its authors also had these comments on key issues faced by various regions of the world:

• Stability in Afghanistan is vitally important if the terrorist threat from remnants of al-Qaida now based in Pakistan is to be contained. • The recently unveiled "road map" to Middle East peace could succeed with intensive diplomatic efforts. However, Chipman said, "with the U.S. electoral season beginning in earnest by the late autumn of this year, the window for that diplomacy is narrow." • A solution to the North Korean nuclear threat will be very hard to achieve, and the collapse of diplomatic efforts could make the situation even more dangerous. • Continuing disorder in countries in South America's northern Andes, particularly Colombia and Venezuela, will pose challenges for the Bush administration. • Africa is an unexpected bright spot. "Sub-Saharan Africa undoubtedly took a turn for the better in 2002," the report says, pointing to progress toward achieving or maintaining peace in Congo, Sierra Leone, Angola, Sudan and Burundi.