Coalition crumbling?

The Gulf War coalition of nations disagrees on future policy toward Iraq

(CNN) -- The coalition that rallied the United Nations and fought the Gulf War is definitely showing signs of cracking. The most high-profile coalition member to defect is France, which has turned highly critical of the economic sanctions placed on Iraq.

France has openly opposed the continuation of sanctions and recently challenged the embargo by allowing flights from France to land at Baghdad's newly reopened Saddam International Airport without seeking authorization from the U.N. sanctions committee. France, along with Russia, which has allowed similar flights, says nations wishing to send humanitarian supplies to Iraq should only have to notify the committee instead of receiving its approval.

After the Russian and French flights, several Arab nations followed suit. In November, a Baghdad trade fair drew 12 foreign trade ministers and some 18,000 business people representing 45 countries. Last August, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez became the first head of state to visit Iraq since the war and meet Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

China also has voiced opposition to the continuation of the sanctions. Neither China nor Russia was a member of the Gulf War coalition that fought the war but both did not oppose the U.N. resolutions concerning the conflict.

Arab nations, except for Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, tend to favor either easing or ending the sanctions on Baghdad. Most Arab nations, except for Jordan, either backed the Gulf War or did not oppose it. In October, Iraqi officials traveled to Egypt and attended their first Arab League meeting in a decade.

In 1999, the League condemned the December 1998 U.S. and British air strikes on Iraq that were prompted by Baghdad's reported failure to cooperate with U.N. weapons inspectors and the League backed the lifting of the sanctions. But League members also called on Iraq to implement U.N. resolutions on weapons inspections and refrain from making any "provocative actions" toward its neighbors.

The United States and Great Britain continue to press for the sanctions to remain in place until Iraq is certified as complying with U.N. resolutions that say the sanctions cannot be lifted until U.N. inspectors report Iraq has surrendered all weapons of mass destruction. Iraq says it has already done so and insists the sanctions be lifted.

U.N. weapons inspections ended abruptly in December 1998, just before the United States and Britain launched air strikes to punish Baghdad for failing to cooperate with U.N. weapons searches. Attempts to resume inspections have repeatedly stalled. Talks between U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Iraq to discuss the sanctions and a new weapons inspections team were scheduled to begin in January 2001 but were postponed until February at the earliest.