Agence France-Presse: "The United States said Monday it feared the military defeat of Saddam Hussein's regime had increased the potential for terrorist attacks on US interests overseas and urged Americans around the world to redouble their security precautions. 'Tensions remaining from the recent events in Iraq may increase the potential threat to US citizens and interests abroad, including by terrorist groups,' the State Department said in a statement." [Amazing!]

Hans Von Sponeck in July, 2002: "The refusal of individual Security Council members to recognize incremental progress in disarmament by Iraq in the pre-1998 period constituted a fundamental mistake of historic proportions. Scott Ritter, a former U.S. inspector known for his thoroughness, has said that Iraq was already qualitatively disarmed when UN weapons inspectors were withdrawn at the request of the U.S. in 1998. An unambiguous framework for inspections, arms monitoring and definition of compliance is needed, as an indication that sanctions will not continue in perpetuity." [emphasis added. That's why diplomacy "failed": the US wouldn't even indicate the conditions under which the sanctions would end!]

Von Sponeck has a book on "UN Policy In Iraq", which is supposed to be out this month. There's also a very interesting transcript of a talk given by Von Sponeck. He was the Chief Humanitarian Officer for the UN in Iraq until he resigned in 2000 to protest the sanctions.

AFP: "Senior aides to US President George W. Bush met this week to consider ways to punish France for its opposition to the war on Iraq, including sidelining Paris at NATO and limiting its participation in transatlantic forums, officials said."