The Perspective Of Kofi Annan:

Today Kofi Annan outlines his perspective on the U.N.'s deliberations in a Wall Street Journal editorial, which you can read here at OpinionJournal (registration NOT required). His central thesis:

The United Nations, founded to "save succeeding generations from the scourge of war," has a duty to search for a peaceful solution until the last possible moment.

Has that moment arrived? That is the decision that the members of the Security Council now face. It is a grave decision indeed. If they fail to agree on a common position, and some of them then take action without the council's authority, the legitimacy of that action will be widely questioned, and it will not gain the political support needed to ensure its long-term success, after its military phase.

If, on the other hand, the members of the council can come together, even at this late hour, and ensure compliance with their earlier resolutions by agreeing on a common course of action, then the council's authority will be enhanced, and the world will be a safer place.

Arguing for the legitimacy of his organization, as we would expect. He is less articulate, though, in commenting on the consequences to the U.N.'s legitimacy wrought by 12 years of a member state flaunting Security Council edicts.