Pakistan, Sept. 27 -- In the rather dismal record of the UN in preventing conflict, there are some partial successes, just as there are some really impressive judgments by International Courts. This essay will discuss one of each. I have narrated both examples before in other contexts. They deserve to be viewed in this context as well. Noteworthy is the fact that US is center-stage in both.

The Suez Crisis

Completed in 1869, constructed by the French, and co-funded by Egypt and France, the Canal was jointly owned by the two countries. Suez Canal is an artificial waterway through an isthmus connecting the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean; and a huge shortcut. Not only are the currents in it unpredictable, it is narrow and without locks,...