Bush needs the allies he ignored before war (Palm Beach Post Editorial)

[coda]

Bush needs the allies he ignored before war

Palm Beach Post Editorial
Friday, June 25, 2004



The United States always needed more allies in Iraq. The Bush administration finally admits as much, and Thursday's casualties from insurgent attacks across Iraq that killed more than 100 and wounded more than 300 underscore the cry for help. Allies won't respond, however, if the real goal is not to stabilize Iraq but to patch up the Bush campaign.

NATO is the savior of choice. President Bush will beg for help next week at the NATO summit in Turkey -- which also suffered attacks Thursday. On Wednesday, Iraq's interim prime minister, Iyad Allawi, asked for NATO's help. Allies will be dubious, however, if President Bush is engaged in a dump-and-run. Having failed to make Iraq secure, the president desperately needs to make Iraq at least look secure before he faces voters. There are two approaches.

One would be to work with Iraqi forces and NATO reinforcements to greatly improve general security. Another would be to lure NATO troops and/or ill-trained Iraqis into positions where they will take the hits instead of Americans. The first approach is essential to achieve the president's stated goals for Iraq, but the second might be sufficient for the president to win in November. If Mr. Bush can't accomplish the first, he will scramble to do the second. If that seems cynical, look at the administration's record in Fallujah. After vowing in April to pacify Fallujah after four U.S. contractors were killed and mutilated, the White House told U.S. forces to give up, handing control to an ad-hoc militia.


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Incremental help from NATO makes sense from the allies' point of view. They want to be sure President Bush isn't making them pay for the country he broke. Some options, such as NATO guarding a new U.N. presence in Iraq or beefing up border security, could bring help quicker without putting NATO immediately in the middle.




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http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/content/auto/epaper/editions/friday/opinion_04bda6aa32d712760067.html

[struggle4progress]

1. Who can say "Up yours, George" with the most charming accent? eom

[hadrons]

2. universal reply

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[struggle4progress]

3. To the point, but perhaps not sufficiently diplomatic! eom