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UNITED NATIONS -- More than 2 1/2 years after the bitter rift over the Iraq war, the U.N. Security Council united against Syria and showed that it could speak with a single voice on a difficult and contentious issue.
The United States, Russia, China and other key players said the give-and-take in negotiations on the Syria resolution and its unanimous approval were hopeful signs that the council is putting past differences behind it.
The resolution threatened further action if Syria doesn't cooperate with a U.N. investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. It was adopted Monday in response to last week's report by U.N. investigators implicating top Syrian and Lebanese security officials in the Feb. 14 Beirut bombing, and accusing Syria of not cooperating fully with the probe.
"I thought it was a good example of how the council can work together effectively," U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said of the negotiations.
"For me, it called back memories to 1990-91 and how the council worked during the Persian Gulf crisis," Bolton told The Associated Press. "And I think if we could help get back to that kind of level of activity and cooperation it would be ideal."
The Security Council wasn't totally united during the crisis that followed Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait and led to the Gulf War that ousted Saddam Hussein's invading army. But it did approve a resolution authorizing military force in November 1990 by a vote of 12-2, with China abstaining and Cuba and Yemen voting "no."
In March 2003, however, the United States, Britain and Spain were forced to drop a resolution seeking authorization for military force against Saddam because of certain veto by France and opposition from a majority of council members, including Russia and Germany. They opposed the rush to war and wanted U.N. inspectors to have more time to search for weapons of mass destruction.
The crushing diplomatic failure left the world body bitterly divided and Washington marching toward a military confrontation without international support.
Since then, the council has worked to adopt many resolutions dealing with postwar Iraq, Afghanistan, Congo and other crises.
But the Syrian resolution was the first that won unanimous approval and threatened possible future action against a country under Chapter VII of the U.N. Charter -- which allows the use of military force.
France and the United States -- who were on opposing sides over Iraq -- co-sponsored a resolution in late 2004 demanding that Syria withdraw its forces and intelligence operatives from Lebanon, and they were joined by Britain in pushing the latest resolution demanding Syrian cooperation with the Hariri probe.
The initial draft threatened sanctions against Syria, a move opposed by Russia, a close ally of Damascus, as well as China and Algeria, the Security Council's only Arab member.
Ambassadors from the five permanent council nations -- the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France -- conducted intense negotiations to try to reach agreement on the resolution.
But it took a rare trip to New York by the foreign ministers of the five veto-wielding countries to clinch the deal over dinner Sunday and early-morning talks on Monday before the vote.
"We are a club and we try to work together," Russia's U.N. Ambassador Andrey Denisov said of the five permanent members, who are known as the P-5.
Was the P-5 cooperation on Syria a good model for future council action?
"Very good, very good! Very encouraging, very encouraging!" Denisov replied.
China's U.N. Ambassador Wang Guangya said the unanimous vote for the resolution showed the importance of trying to strengthen the council's unity "by accommodating each other" instead of pushing for votes when members are divided.
"I believe that the P-5 should strengthen their cooperation because it is clear that whenever the P-5 have a common position, it's better for the Security Council to move in an effective way," he said. "I think there should be more ministerial meetings."
France's U.N. Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said Thursday the council's unanimity not only isolated Syria but would make it easier for the council to react to the next report from chief U.N. investigator Detlev Mehlis on whether Syria has fully cooperated with the inquiry. That report is due when his mandate ends on Dec. 15.
In his initial report, Mehlis said the bombing that killed Hariri and 20 others could not have been organized without Syria's knowledge -- a claim Damascus vehemently denies. Syria withdrew its military from Lebanon in April, in part because of the outcry over Hariri's killing.
The United States has stepped up pressure on Syria, which it accuses of sponsoring terrorism, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was asked after the vote whether putting the resolution under Chapter VII would give Washington unilateral authority to use force against Syria, as it did in Iraq.
After Mehlis' next report, "if necessary, the council can come back and consider, other measures, or other action," Rice replied. "That is what we intend to live by."
But what happens after the next report remains to be seen.
"When interests of the P-5 converge, as it does in Syria, then things will happen. But if they are divided, then the council will be divided," said the Philippines U.N. Ambassador Lauro Baja, Jr., a non-permanent council member.
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"I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."
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