following the invasion and the destruction of the saddam hussein regime, the initial stance taken by france, as the main western opponent of the war, was for the rapid ending of the u.s. and british occupation, and, in its place, the creation of a un administration of iraq. the subsequent failure of the united states and its allies to find the iraqi wmd, over which the war was fought, formed an important backdrop to the subsequent stance taken by france and germany. it has been noted that france and other european countries were keener on un involvement in iraq than the un itself.