They epitomize what senior officials say is the box in which the United States finds itself when it comes to enforcing the Security Council's resolutions.

The legal right to determine how to enforce its own resolutions lies with the Security Council alone (UN Charter Articles 39-42), not with individual nations.

The U.N. has no army to enforce its resolutions and must pester its members to pay their dues.

Then Bush scandalized the world by announcing his desire to enforce the U.N.'s resolutions on Iraq.

The Council stated that if Israel repeated similar acts they would consider taking adequate steps to enforce their resolutions.

Pakistan was happy to see Mr. Bush demand that the United Nations enforce its past resolutions requiring Iraq to give up its weapons.

"Victory for the Security Council will be if it is able to carry out its obligations to enforce its resolutions."

If the U.N. had simply refused to enforce its own resolutions, as they did throughout the 1990s?

The Security Council may now sign on too, to Mr. Bush's rightful demand that the U.N. enforce its own resolutions against Iraq.

The Security Council has to enforce its own resolutions.