However, UN's failure to force Iraq to comply with the 1991 ceasefire agreement, specifically Resolution 687, for 12 years made their argument moot and that the UN was not the governing body over the U.S. or any other nation; it only allowed UN members to discuss freely about the issue regarding Iraq's disarmament obligations. On the day Resolution 1441 was passed, the US ambassador to the UN, John Negroponte, assured the Security Council that there were no "hidden triggers" with respect to the use of force, and that in the event of a "further breach" by Iraq, resolution 1441 would require that "the matter will return to the Council for discussions as required in paragraph 12." However, he then added: "If the Security Council fails to act decisively in the event of further Iraqi violations, this resolution does not constrain any Member State from acting to defend itself against the threat posed by Iraq or to enforce relevant United Nations resolutions and protect world peace and security."[10][11]