"It is distressing and regretful to see military action when people around the world are longing for peace," said Zhou Zunnan, a professor of international relations with the Foreign Affairs College.

"War, to some extent, is inevitable, though it runs against the will of the people," said Professor Wang Baofu of the National Defense University of the People's Liberation Army.

Chen Guangwei, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said: "The military action will paralyze the administrative systems of Iraq's social, economic and natural resources and aggravate the suffering of the Iraqi people."

In addition to probably creating 1 to 2 million refugees, the military action will have many consequences, some unpredictable, for Iraq.

As to the impact on the ecological environment, Gao Zugui of the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations said: "the advanced weapons used by the US troops will cause great damage to the natural environment."

As for the war's impact on the international political situation, Zhou Zunnan said that compared to the last Gulf war, the US-led military action has won far less international support.

"What's worse, such unilateral action will escalate the conflicts between the West and the Islamic world, and will intensify the contradictions between the United States and those countries in favor of multipolarization," he said.

Gao Zugui maintains that the attacks are part of a scheme by the Bush administration to forge a new world order, and will greatly affect relations among major powers. "That is why most major countries are against the military action," said Gao.

The experts also commented on the military action from the perspective of the United Nations and the UN Security Council. Wang Baofu pointed out the military action, launched by the United States, and bypassing the UN Security Council, added to the doubts of many countries as to the real intentions behind the campaign.

Furthermore, Wang warned, the action will have a negative impact on the authority of the United Nations and on the post-Cold War international order.

Shen Jiru, a political researcher with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the United States-led attack on a sovereign nation in the absence of UN approval, reflects its contempt for the international order, the international security system and the United Nations, and is indicative of its increasing tendency towards unilateralism.

US military action will also influence the Middle East. Wu Xinbo said that by use of its military might, the United States aims to further consolidate its hegemony in the Middle East and realize its ambition of re-draw the political and strategic map of the region.

Shen Dingli, a professor with the American Studies Center of Shanghai-based Fudan University, said continued military action will arouse dissatisfaction among the Arab people.

(Xinhua News Agency March 25, 2003)