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Originally posted by debaser
Ok, allow me to explain the concept of self interest in the geo-political world.
The US is, hands down, the most powerful nation in the world right now. We will fight tooth and nail to keep ourselves in that position. We would be foolish not to. Iraq was not about oil, or WMD, or freedom, or any other such bollocks. It was about us flexing our muscle and reminding the rest of the world of it's place.
The British realized after WW2 that they would never regain the empire they once had, and that it would be in their interest to hitch to the same post as the US.
The French, Russians, and Chinese all have a shared goal: Replaceing the US in the top spot on the globe. To do that they need to weaken US influence. They attempted to use the UN security council to do that, and it backfired, rendering the SC (one of the main tools in this struggle) pretty much irrelevant.
Someone mentioned Chiracs conscience above. Well, leaders of countries don't make descisions based on conscience. This war, and the diplomatic struggle leading up to it is a glimpse into the self interest that drives the policy of the modern state.
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The USA invaded Iraq because it needed a stable base in that region. So as they can have *some* control over the region (and thus its oil). This because, the successor to the Saudi throne is Anti-American and wants to discontinue help to the USA once in power.
There aren't other countries (except Israël) in that region that are pro American. So what else to do to invade Iraq and make it an American home base.