Bush League [09.10.03]

As if there was any doubt before, President Bush made it clear this past week that he has absolutely no shame.

Last week, after meeting with Colin Powell, Bush announced that the United States would seek a new United Nations resolution that would create a multinational peace-keeping force in post-war Iraq. I imagine that behind closed doors, French and German officials are still rolling on the ground laughing at us.

When the Administration was marching toward war in March, Powell went to the United Nations to ask for a resolution supporting our invasion. It wasn't as if they actually cared if the world (or their own people, for that matter) supported them. They were just trying to be polite.

Many nations, most notably France, Germany, and Russia, opposed military action in Iraq. Did we stop at that point and reconsider our plans? Of course not. It was more like, "To hell with the U.N. and the terrorist-aiding French. We're gonna destroy that whole country and there ain't a thing you can do to stop us." We even tried to exorcise the French influence on our culture because they dared to disagree. French fries became "Freedom fries" and Americans dumped all their French wine in the name of patriotism. (Why we decided to only pick on France I don't know. Nobody called for a boycott on Volkswagen.)

But now, Iraq is a complete mess, and we can't seem to do much about it. A congressional study concluded that we cannot maintain our current troop levels in Iraq without either vastly expanding our military or getting help from the same allies we so arrogantly brushed aside six months ago. This is why France and Germany are laughing. The mighty USA is having to crawl back to the U.N. and beg for help.

So on Sunday night, Bush addressed the nation and the world. What he should have done was come right out and say that he horribly underestimated what it would take to rebuild Iraq, and apologize in no vague terms to the members of the U.N., specifically France and Germany.

But I don't think anyone really expected Bush to do that. It's not exactly in his character to admit even the slightest mistake. Instead, he trotted out the old freedom vs. terrorism shtick. He correctly stated that Iraq is now a focal point of the war on terror, and that it is crucial that order be restored.

"Everywhere that freedom takes hold," he declared, "terror will retreat." He failed to mention that Iraq has become a focal point as a direct result of the chaos we have created in Iraq. It was not so before. Contrary to what the Administration would have you believe, Saddam Hussein was not an ally of Islamic extremists.

The bottom line is that America is in over its head with post-war Iraq. Terrorist organizations know this and are trying to take advantage of it while they can. It is in the best interests of the world to help us rebuild Iraq before the terrorists become too powerful. It's just that Bush will never admit it's his fault that the world is in this situation to begin with.