Hans Blix, chairman of the International Commission on Weapons of Mass Destruction (2004) and former head of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), spoke before prominent residents of Orange County at the Irvine Marriott Hotel on Thursday, April 3.
According to Blix, all of the goals of the Iraq War failed except for oneâ€'the toppling of Saddam Hussein.
Among the other ambitions were to eliminate weapons of mass destruction, which Blix believed were destroyed in 1991. The second motivation was establishing democracy in Iraq, which Blix believed turned into anarchy five years later, therefore rendering it unsuccessful. Lastly, rationale was to eliminate terrorist forces such as Al-Qaeda, who according to Blix, was not in Iraq until after United States forces invaded the country.
Blix expressed that an extended occupation of Iraq by U.S. military forces was unnecessary, as Iraqis could have protected themselves against Al-Qaeda.
"I have some doubts that it's meaningful to have a lot of the U.S. troops there to look after Al-Qaeda. I think the Iraqis themselves are capable of doing that, perhaps more capable of doing that alone than having the U.S. there," Blix said.
Blix noted that the only feat accomplished by the Iraq War was Hussein's removal from office.
"[Hussein's] toppling was the only success of the war. All the other ambitions were failures," Blix said.
According to Blix, although Hussein may not have been a threat to the rest of the world, he would have become an increasingly dangerous menace to his own people in the same vein as Fidel Castro and Muammar al-Gaddafi, the dictators of Cuba and Libya, respectively.
"[Castro and al-Gaddafi] are not dangerous to the rest of the world. It was a dictatorship, a very brutal one. Certainly, Saddam was the most brutal of these three. But Castro had a lot of opponents in prison and al-Gaddafi had not committed to himself before."
Blix first became involved in weapons inspections when he was called out of retirement in 2000 to serve as an authority on the matter. Blix contrasted his approach with weapon inspections performed in the 1990s. He thought that these inspections were potentially harmful as they were often condescending to the countries being searched.
"I thought that some inspections in the 1990s had been too provocative [and] humiliating and I felt that the national inspections should be effective and we shall use all the lights we have, but it should not be harassing or humiliating," Blix said.
Blix also noted that a variety of other factors contributed to the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
"I think in Iraq, the U.S. did not have the same fear of interventions from somebody else. … In the case of North Korea, there would be horrible dangers … [with] China and Russia as neighbors. … They couldn't be sure that they would tolerate a U.S. intervention," Blix said.
Blix also cited that it was not coincidence that the Iraq War broke out in 2003, as he mentioned that Russia's military capabilities during the Cold War kept American forces at bay.
However, much has changed since 1945, especially the United Nations, which has grown from 50 members to 193. Blix, who was a student at Columbia University in 1950, witnessed the adoption of the Uniting for Peace resolution after the Korean War, which secured another measure for peace among members of the United Nations.
In an interview with the New University, Blix encouraged students interested in "doing something about the U.N." to study it and to understand internal affairs. Although Blix believes that there is corruption in the United Nations, he does not believe that it is substantial enough to completely discredit the organization.
In fact, Blix expressed that corruption reached far beyond the United Nations, into private enterprise.
"You'll see it was private enterprise that were in cahoots with Iraqis. They bought oil from the Iraqis, they said, ‘Okay, you'll get the contract but 10 percent would go to Saddam,'" Blix said. "Or Iraqis bought wheat from Australia and said, ‘You'll get the contract but 10 percent goes to the regime.'"
In terms of additional change since the Cold War, Blix discussed how technological advancements and the wide use of the Internet allows students to access information about the United Nations and learn more.
Blix subscribes to National Herald Tribune, Financial Times and reads location-specific publications such as The Khaleej Times, the Gulf News and Asia Online to get a broader scope of world affairs.
"You want to have a fair picture. … I'm a lawyer so I want to see both sides," Blix said. "It's not enough to have passion, you must have knowledge, especially if you want to do something about it."
Blix has consistently stressed that in order to find the right therapy, one must first find the correct diagnosis. Similarly, Blix expressed that the same applies to international affairs.
"In the case of Iraq, the U.S. did not have the right diagnosis," Blix said. "[The United States] thought that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. History will show how much they knew."
Although Blix conveyed his disappointment in the U.S. decision to invade Iraq, he was optimistic for future generations to improve international relations through the United Nations.
"You will live longer in this world than I will and you have an even stronger instance in establishing peace," Blix said. "The interdependence in the world today [is] quantum leaps ahead of what it was in those days."
Of the various attendees were students from UC Irvine and Sunny Hills High School.
"I think Hans Blix and a lot of people from his generation … view it as East versus West," said Michael Flores, a second-year international studies major who attended the event. "It isn't so much about East versus West … it's us."
Kelley Kim, a senior at Sunny Hills High School, was one of 10 students in her Advanced Placement European History class who volunteered to attend the event.
"I never thought about this topic as an important issue in this world before," Kim said. "What was most interesting was the part where [Blix] talked about how global warming was a slow suicide. I'm into global warming, especially after watching ‘An Inconvenient Truth,' a documentary by Al Gore. It makes me want to pursue international relations in college."
Blix articulated that, as harmful as global warming is to the international community, nuclear weapons are much worse.
"Global warming may threaten us with a slow suicide but nuclear weapons may threaten us with a quick suicide," Blix said.
Despite his zeal for nuclear disarmament and peace in Iraq, Blix is not always viewed as a completely serious character. In fact, Blix was parodied in the 2004 movie, "Team America," created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, as an over-the-top bureaucrat.
"I think that anyone who becomes known in politics in the world, you have to expect that sort of thing and it doesn't worry me. It adds to my fame," Blix smiled. "I have seen [the movie]. I think, in substance, they don't understand. What they really want to say is, ‘Hey, here is this bureaucrat saying, A-ha! If you do not do that I say, I will report on you!'"
The World Affairs Council of Orange County invited Hans Blix to speak at its event. Since 1967, the World Affairs Council of Orange County has held numerous dinner events inviting speakers from the international community to discuss their views and opinions to foster interest in global issues.
World Affairs Council of America is the largest non-governmental organization (NGO) in the United States, with approximately 500,000 members. In Orange County alone, the nonpartisan, member-driven organization has 500 members, which include academics, and business and political leaders.
Recently, World Affairs Council of Orange County created a high-school outreach program that invites leaders to discuss various topics with students as a way to raise international consciousness among the youth.
Each year, World Affairs Council of Orange County raises $5,000 for a charity organization. Past charities include the Make-a-Wish Foundation and the Free Wheelchair Mission.
"We invite anyone and everyone to apply or attend our events. You don't have to be a member to attend," said Chairman of World Affairs Council of Orange County James Coyle. "However, membership does have benefits, especially at UCI. … We hope to give students a chance to follow on in their education."
Students who are interested in becoming involved in World Affairs Council of Orange County should contact Dr. James Coyle via telephone at (949) 253-5751 or e-mail at wacoc@hotmail.com.
The next event hosted by World Affairs Council of Orange County will invite U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Zalmay Khalilzad, who was also an ambassador to Iraq (2005) and Afghanistan (2003-05). The event, titled, "Bringing the World to Orange County," will be held on May 2 at the Balboa Bay Club in honor of the spring gala.
For more information, please visit the World Affairs Council Web site at www.worldaffairscouncil.org.