Iraqi Exiles Oppose US Plans Non-aligned Iraqi exiles opposed to American plans to occupy their country are stepping up their efforts to gather support for a UN-supervised interim administration that would pave the way for a new, Iraqi democracy free of American control. ...The group wants a transitional administration that would work "in cooperation with the UN" - not under the US. Pachachi has said he favours a collective leadership to minimise the possibility of ethnic conflict or argument. They call for an immediate lifting of sanctions against Iraq in the post-Saddam period. They also seek the development of an oil policy to help rebuild Iraq and - coordination with other producing countries - "to achieve stability in international oil markets".

This proposal was probably primarily an attempt to avert war (the story is a few weeks old, but I've been behind on reading the IWPR reports). But the rationale that the group gives highlights what is probably the most important reason that UN support was needed for the war. It's not for legalistic procedural reasons; it's because the participation of the UN -- which has far more legitimacy in the eyes of the Arab world than the US does -- could be instrumental in making sure we win the peace.