Opinion: A Nobel peace partner

One special asset in the battle against global terrorism is only blocks away from the ruins in New York. We speak, of course, of the United Nations. Along with its diplomatic, economic and legal frameworks for bringing terrorists and their state-sponsors to justice, the world body also is equipped to address the humanitarian and social needs that push anti-Westernism to the extreme. Friday's announcement that the United Nations and its secretary-general, Kofi Annan, have won the Nobel Peace Prize underscores the organization's role as an important partner in the Bush administration's war against global terror.

The idea of collective security brought the United Nations into being, and there's no greater threat to the people and government of any nation than a crisis precipitated by a terrorist attack. Every member-state has a duty under the U.N. charter to join the fight against global terror, as well as practical incentives for stopping its export to other states. The United Nations can give legitimacy to military crackdowns on terrorist groups and the governments that harbor them, and its involvement can help to defuse the backlash that inevitably comes when Washington acts alone.

In responding to the Sept. 11 attacks, the Bush administration is retaliating along a broad front. Beyond any peacekeeping role the United Nations might eventually play in Afghanistan, the body has the political tools to effect the hand-over of suspects and the institutional ability to conduct legal proceedings. On the economic front, the organization can impose sanctions against terrorist states -- and provide financial aid to nations whose economies and political institutions are weakened by their decision to cooperate in the fight against terrorism. U.N. institutions also could play a pivotal role in the effort to locate, freeze and sever the flow of money moving in and out of terrorists' bank accounts.

One recent idea is to create a U.N. high commissioner for terrorism. This office could share intelligence, coordinate relief and provide a neutral ground for nations to collaborate. The United Nations already has a dozen treaties on terror. In many ways, a high commissioner might be the international equivalent of President Bush's new Cabinet-level secretary of homeland security; he could pull together the antiterror efforts of various jurisdictions and give the issue a higher profile. Citizens from more than 60 countries were killed in the Sept. 11 attacks; in purely symbolic terms, appointing a high commissioner would further the success Annan already has had in making the United Nations a more powerful instrument of international action.

President Bush has yet to give the United Nations such a clear embrace. During last year's campaign, he rejected the concept of "nation-building." In so many words, though, the president acknowledged Thursday night that the United Nations might lead the effort to build a stable coalition government in Afghanistan once the Taliban is gone. It helps greatly that Congress finally agreed to pay our back dues, ending a long and divisive dispute with the United Nations. Our credibility on issues of international cooperation is being repaired at a critical time.

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