US and Them

The international community has not abandoned the US in Iraq, it has been driven away. The US would not allow UN weapons inspections more time to search for WMDs because they said Saddam represented an "imminent threat". Now they have searched for 6 months on their own and still found no WMDs, yet they refuse to acknowledge their error. An apology to the UN would go a long way towards restoring US credibility, especially if it was accompanied by the resignation or impeachment of G. W. Bush.

The US asked foreign nations to contribute troops and money to help rebuild Iraq, yet it refused to allow foreign nations any control of the process or the funds involved. It has also refused non-US companies any chance of bidding on the extraordinarily large contracts being offered to rebuild Iraq. Instead, companies like Halliburton and Bechel, with close ties to the Bush administration, are raking in the money.

Saddam Hussein was heavily in debt to France and Russia, for example, yet the US is not offering them any chance to recoup their losses. That will teach them to embarrass us in the UN! Loyal lapdogs like Britain and Australia, Poland and Spain, are grudgingly tosses a few bones to chew on. Obviously it wasn't enough for los Espanyoles - as mortars fall on the US HQ, the Spaniards are pulling out their staff before they are killed.

Over the past month, the Bush neo-cons have given up their efforts at contriving belated international support for their invasion. Instead, they are focussing on "Iraqification", media coinage for the building up of Iraqi police and border forces so they can help stem US casualties and allow US troops to start returning home before the next election.

A few months ago, US officials were saying that it will take years for Iraqi police to be trained and operational. Now the number of Iraqis ready to patrol the streets has jumped from 60,000 to 85,000 to 100,000 within a few hours, depending which press conference you were attending.

It sounds like a last resort measure and it sounds like more wishful thinking from the White House.

As the Washington Post editorial puts it today, the latest Iraqi recruits will want to know what they are fighting for. "If the answer seems to be a dominating U.S. occupation regime, as opposed to a rapidly emerging Iraqi sovereignty, the commitment of our new comrades in arms may not be much greater than that of the international agencies and allies who lately have been slipping away."