This is how it works..
Iraq has agreed that it's supplies of al Samoud missiles will be destroyed.. this, a day before the deadline set not by George and Tony, or the UN itself, but by no less than Hans Blix.. force majeur indeed..
It was only a matter of timing anyway.. and Hussein got weeks and millions of his enemies marching for him.. for what will doubtless be very little indeed..
But today, it's the 2d UN Resolution that occupies George and Tony.. with the British supplying the diplomacy, and the Americans the cash.. They're buying votes, unabashedly..
Anglola is willing to side with the US, if there's post-civil war aid.. not a sure bet in any case..
The President of Cameroon is under some pressure from his own people to cut ties with the French in this, an election year for him.. but again not a sure bet for the US..
Chile has been outspoken in it's opposition to any war, but economically speaking they can't afford to defy the US when the markers are called in..
Guinea is a Muslim state, and appears to be weighing the advantages of siding with the US.. it takes over the rotating presidency of the Security Council tomorrow.. while officially on the fence, it appears there could be backing for the American stance here..
Mexico is in a political dilemma.. it's election year and the public is against a war.. but the government's anti-war stance has begun to waffle this past week.. a deal regarding Mexican migrants is purportedly on the block..
Pakistan is thought to be one which will abstain.. the Islamic power there and public opposition to war.. another 'million man march' is promised for Karachi this coming Sunday..
These are the 6 countries who could force unilateral action through their own inaction..
We know what France will do.. we suspect what Russia is playing, that being both ends against the middle..
What we will see over the next week or so, is how seriously the major powers take the UN these days.. whether the prospect of a European Hegemony is more appealing to those who pull the strings in that theater than a settlement of a world problem.. whether the promise of American cash will be enough to sway those, who realize the one eyed man is king in the land of the blind..