by William Pfaff
The International Herald-Tribune
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>
PARIS Despite the optimism at the Pentagon about Iraqi operations, Tuesday's speeches at the United Nations General Assembly may actually prove to be a step toward an American retreat from Baghdad, possibly before the end of this year.
The speeches failed to advance the Iraq problem beyond where it was before the Assembly met. If in the Security Council, the Bush administration refuses even a symbolic transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqis (as demanded by Old Europe), and refuses to cede any political authority over the occupation to the UN, Washington will continue to enjoy exclusive ownership of this problem - with all of its risks and its current $87 billion-plus cost to the American taxpayer.
It's curious that Washington seems never to have considered welcoming the UN and the Europeans into Iraq to take responsibility for nation-building, claimed glorious military victory for itself and pulled troops out as rapidly as possible.
The military in Baghdad is now planning how to get out of the present mess. What's being discussed is a military retreat into several well-defended bases well away from the capital and Iraq's other cities. These undoubtedly are mostly the same bases Washington had in mind before the war as permanent U.S. installations.
The idea is to hand over Iraq's security to newly recruited Iraqi police and militias, as well as to whatever multinational force the United States can put together.
While the plan looks interesting on paper, if it works at all, it would end by handing control of Iraq to forces incompatible with the idea of a shining new Middle Eastern democracy in Iraq that the Bush administration has for the past year been promising. It might look a lot like an old-fashioned authoritarian Arab state, run by generals, tribal leaders and policemen.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Story continued here.
Phaedrus
The International Herald-Tribune
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>
PARIS Despite the optimism at the Pentagon about Iraqi operations, Tuesday's speeches at the United Nations General Assembly may actually prove to be a step toward an American retreat from Baghdad, possibly before the end of this year.
The speeches failed to advance the Iraq problem beyond where it was before the Assembly met. If in the Security Council, the Bush administration refuses even a symbolic transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqis (as demanded by Old Europe), and refuses to cede any political authority over the occupation to the UN, Washington will continue to enjoy exclusive ownership of this problem - with all of its risks and its current $87 billion-plus cost to the American taxpayer.
It's curious that Washington seems never to have considered welcoming the UN and the Europeans into Iraq to take responsibility for nation-building, claimed glorious military victory for itself and pulled troops out as rapidly as possible.
The military in Baghdad is now planning how to get out of the present mess. What's being discussed is a military retreat into several well-defended bases well away from the capital and Iraq's other cities. These undoubtedly are mostly the same bases Washington had in mind before the war as permanent U.S. installations.
The idea is to hand over Iraq's security to newly recruited Iraqi police and militias, as well as to whatever multinational force the United States can put together.
While the plan looks interesting on paper, if it works at all, it would end by handing control of Iraq to forces incompatible with the idea of a shining new Middle Eastern democracy in Iraq that the Bush administration has for the past year been promising. It might look a lot like an old-fashioned authoritarian Arab state, run by generals, tribal leaders and policemen.
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Story continued here.
Phaedrus
