Friday, September 12, 2003

Iraq War Dilemma

The challenge and tragedy of our current situation in Iraq is captured poignantly, if unintentionally, in this headline:

U.S. Kill 8 Iraqi Allies, Bush Seeks World Help

The article itself is already somewhat outdated. A more recent report has the death toll at 10 Iraqi police and one Jordanian hospital guard.

This remains the US dilemma. In order to get more international assistance, the US has to convince potential military contributors that we have a reasonable handle on the situation. Part of getting the security situation under control is having the support of well-trained Iraqi police. An event like this is damaging on both fronts.

Via War News, this is a statement on the current situation by the foreign minister of Canada, one of the few countries who could actually provide significant numbers of properly-trained troops for Iraq:
Iraq's slide into "poverty and desperation and violence" must be halted and reversed or it will "become an incredible source of terror," Foreign Minister Bill Graham said yesterday after talks with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. ...

He declined to blame the U.S.-led war, which Ottawa opposed, for what he called the current deterioration in Iraq. But he made it clear that Canada wants the Bush administration to relinquish at least some control over Iraq to the United Nations as Washington seeks international help and more troops to pacify and rebuild the country.

"No country is going to commit their soldiers or their treasury or their taxpayers' money unless they believe they have some role in making a decision about how that money will be spent or how the lives of our citizens will be risked," Mr. Graham said, adding he told Mr. Powell that "the broader the resolution, the better chance there is of having a broader coalition."
For better or worse, without a genuine internationalization of the occupation, including a major United Nations role in constructing a new government, there is not going to be allied cavalry riding to our rescue in the Iraq War.

Hearing: Kasey Chambers, "On a Bad Day"

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