After a dismal summer of watching
the situation in Iraq spiral from bad to worse, the White House appears
to have finally acknowledged what many of us have understood from the
beginning: it is going to take huge amounts of money, a long term commitment,
and substantial help from the international community to restore order
to Iraq.
After stiff-arming the United Nations over its refusal to rubber stamp
the Administration's war plans for Iraq, and alienating some of our staunchest
allies in the process, the White House has finally acquiesced to seeking
a new resolution that potentially would give the United Nations the "vital
role" in post-war Iraq that the President once pledged. I only hope
this change of heart is not a lesson too late for the learning. The United
States has squandered on Iraq so much of the international good will that
followed the September 11 terrorist attacks that it may be impossible
to regain all the ground that has been lost.
It is particularly ironic that the Administration's decision to seek a
new resolution to win international support from the United Nations comes
almost exactly one year after the President sternly warned that body that
it faced becoming irrelevant if it failed to support the United States
on Iraq. How far off the mark that assessment turned out to be! Instead
of being irrelevant, the United Nations has emerged as America's best
and possibly only hope to win desperately needed international support
for the post-war mission in Iraq.
What has become tragically clear is that the United States has no strong
plan for turning Iraq over to the Iraqi people and is quickly losing even
its ability to maintain order. The Administration is stumbling through
the dark, hoping by luck to find the lighted path to peace and stability.
Despite the best hopes for an Iraqi democracy, the Iraqi people and the
world see only the worst fears of occupation. Instead of inspiring steps
toward self-government, we witness hit-and-run murders of American soldiers,
terrorist attacks, and sabotage. Our military action in Iraq has forged
a cauldron of contempt for America, a dangerous brew that may poison the
efforts of peace throughout the Middle East and result in the rapid invigoration
of worldwide terrorism.
The President's stubborn insistence that much of the world be shut out
of real participation in the rebuilding effort in Iraq is obviously costing
lives. In addition, it is costing the United States a loss of credibility
in Iraq and around the globe. We promised to improve the quality of life;
yet, so far, we have failed to deliver. As a result, increasing numbers
of Iraqis see the United States only as occupier, not liberator.
Make no mistake about it, Congress has little choice but to provide some
level of additional funding for military and reconstruction activities
in Iraq. We bulldozed our way into that country almost single-handedly
over the objections of most of the international community, and now we
are paying the price for our arrogance. With the exception of the help
we have received from the British government, we have gotten almost no
monetary assistance and precious little military assistance from other
nations to assist with our operations in Iraq.
According to polls released by the Pew Research Center on March 18, 2003,
the day before the war began, opposition to a war in Iraq was at 69 percent
in Germany, 75 percent in France, 86 percent in Turkey, and 87 percent
in Russia. Yet the White House scoffed at this opposition and belittled
the need to unify the world in confronting Saddam Hussein. Could it be
that we are now paying the price for the Administration's bullheaded rush
to war without the broad and active support of the international community?
We have, perhaps, a chance to mend fences and garner more support from
the United Nations if the Administration can swallow its pride and come
up with a new resolution that cedes a meaningful role in the reconstruction
of Iraq to the international community. Perhaps we also have a chance
to attract serious monetary contributions from the international community,
but I doubt that we will begin to approach the level of support that we
received from other nations during the first Gulf War.
Nevertheless, we must keep trying, and returning to the United Nations
is an important, if long overdue, first step.
A hallmark of true leadership is the ability to admit when one is wrong
and to learn from errors. Candidate George W. Bush spoke about the need
for humility from a great and powerful nation. He said, "Let us reject
the blinders of isolationism, just as we refuse the crown of empire. Let
us not dominate others with our power -- or betray them with our indifference.
And let us have an American foreign policy that reflects American character.
The modesty of true strength. The humility of real greatness." It
is time for the Bush Administration to swallow its false pride and return
to that philosophy of humility before it is too late.
