For those of us who believe that the Chilean government should have resolutely supported the Anglo-American alliance in its military intervention in Iraq, we note that our diplomacy was zigzagging, contradictory, hasty, unable to articulate national interests with the principles of the country's foreign policy, and ended up imprisoned by public opinion, mostly opposed to the North American intervention. This critical vision is based on a debatable postulate: the national interest advised to support without delay the request of the United States to obtain the authorization of the Security Council of the United Nations that would contribute to the legitimization of the military actions in Iraq. To assume this position, there were sufficient grounds. It was possible to harmonize the national interest with the principle of respect for international law that Chilean foreign policy should promote.
Keywords:
Chile, National Interest, Foreign Policy, Iraq War, United States
Author Biography
Hernán Felipe Errázuriz
Abogado; ex-embajador de Chile en Estados Unidos; ex-Ministro de Relaciones Exteriores de Chile; miembro del Consejo de Política Exterior del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores.
Errázuriz, H. F. (2003). La diplomacia chilena en la segunda guerra de Irak. Estudios Internacionales, 36(142), p. 113–120. https://doi.org/10.5354/0719-3769.2003.14573
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