President George W. Bush has an opportunity to alleviate some of the international tension his stringent Iraq policy has wound up in recent months.
“Rebuilding of Iraq will require the support and expertise of the international community,” Bush said on Tuesday, April 9, after a war summit with British Prime Minister Tony Blair in Northern Ireland. “We are committed to working with international institutions, including the United Nations, which will have a vital role to play in this task.”
While Bush and Blair’s discussion is premature — coalition forces continue to engage in heavy urban fighting in Baghdad — their shared policy is a step in the right direction. Bush failed to outline the particular role of the United Nations in post-war Iraq, but his language suggests that he may be open to a greater U.N. role than previously indicated by U.S. officials.
It is clearly in the best interest of the United States to allow the United Nations to play a significant part in post-war Iraq, beyond just humanitarian aide and removal of sanctions. This is a chance for Bush to reestablish an international policy toward a free state of Iraq, thereby attempting to heal political divides with France, Germany and elsewhere.
More importantly, a broad U.N. role in a free Iraq would serve to clarify the United States’ intentions for the Middle East region, offering the world a more benevolent image of a nation it has begun to see as a belligerent superpower.
Besides, someone is has to help foot the bill for reconstruction, which, according to an April 8 article in the Wall Street Journal, some experts say could cost upward of $20 billion per year.
With Bush’s current fiscal policy already drowning in red ink, he can ill afford to turn down any assistance.