The Bush administration has built a strong argument for toppling Saddam Hussein. There is no doubt that the world would be a better place without this brutal dictator who has terrorized his own people, twice attacked neighbors and openly defied the United Nations and the disarmament and inspections terms of the cease-fire that ended the Gulf War.

Critics of the Bush administration have built a stronger argument against invading Iraq. The world has many brutal dictators intent on developing weapons of mass destruction and openly hostile to international law; there is nothing unique, or even particularly compelling about Iraq that justifies scrapping the policy of containment that that worked reasonably well for a decade. Such an invasion would ignite the entire Middle East in war, nations from Indonesia to Turkey would be in turmoil. There is no known responsible successor to Mr. Hussein, creating the possibility that neither Iraq nor the rest of the world would be any better off for all the bloodshed. Bypassing the U.N. Security Council and the United States Congress on the way to Baghdad would be morally wrong and politically disastrous.

But perhaps the strongest argument comes from peripheral events. A U.N Security Council report published last week warned that the year-old war on terrorism has pushed al-Qaida underground but has not stopped the flow of money or fresh recruits needed for new attacks. The terrorist network has cells in at least 40 countries throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, it has established links with other militant Islamic groups and found new avenues to channel money and weapons to supporters, the U.N. says.

The report is an evaluation of a Security Council resolution adopted unanimously in January that ordered all nations to freeze the finances and impose arms embargoes and travel bans on individuals and groups associated with Osama bin Laden, al-Qaida and the Taliban. Some 234 individuals and groups are on the U.N. list of those whose assets should be frozen, but many countries – including U.S. allies in Europe and the Middle East – have failed to comply.

The initial success of freezing more than $112 million in al-Qaida assets immediately after Sept. 11 has cooled considerably. Only $10 million has been frozen since January, and the U.N researchers found clear evidence that the cash flow from bin Laden’s personal inheritance and investments, from al-Qaida members and from supposed charitable organizations remains intact and has the potential to exceed $300 million.

As if to underscore this distressing report, now comes verification by European, Pakistani and U.S. investigators that large quantities of al-Qaida gold have been shipped recently from Pakistan, through the United Arab Emirates and Iran, to Sudan in recent weeks. Note that large quantities of al-Qaida gold were not intercepted, but delivered. Note also that the list of countries through which the funding for a future massacre of innocent people made transit does not include Iraq.

The point is the United States – and, it is hoped, the entire civilized world – already is at war. It is an entirely justified and provoked war against a murderous enemy that already has committed numerous atrocities and that has the intent and the resources to commit more. It is a war not going particularly well and it makes the idea of starting another war, all other arguments notwithstanding, simply premature.