The New York Times
March 17, 2003
President Bush Prepares for War
The United States, nearly isolated, is about to wage a war in the name of the world community that opposes it. The meeting that President Bush held yesterday in the Azores with the prime ministers of Britain and Spain made clear that within a day or so, the president is expected to announce that he is sending troops into Iraq. He declared that today would be the last chance for any other solution. If so, let the day not be wasted.
This page remains persuaded of the vital need to disarm Iraq. But it is a process that should go through the United Nations. That is in the best interest both of the United States and of the U.N. With so few of the 14 other members of the Security Council convinced that war is the best immediate option, Washington would be wise to drop the talk of imminent hostilities and come up with a resolution that leads to disarmament and consensus. The current path is reckless.
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Mr. Bush said he would spend today pursuing one last opportunity for diplomacy. Given the administration's bellicose rhetoric over the weekend, it is hard not to suspect that the president is simply going through the motions. But he should be held to his word. Last week, the British put forth a useful resolution that called on Iraq to take a number of specific steps, like letting 30 scientists and their families out of the country for interviews and turning over all mobile chemical and biological weapons facilities. But when the French said they would veto the resolution and Washington seemed unenthusiastic anyway, it died. Both should reconsider and the resolution should be revived with a longer timetable.
President Jacques Chirac of France now says that he could accept a disarmament deadline of 30 days if the weapons inspectors agreed. That is progress, but he needs to be more forthcoming and place a resolution on the table that contains clear, tight deadlines, a direct threat of force and a reasonable mechanism for judging compliance. The French must find a role for themselves in ending the Iraqi threat that goes beyond threatening a veto.
Mr. Bush is right to insist that the choice between war and peace has been in the hands of Saddam Hussein. But it makes no sense to assert, as Vice President Dick Cheney did in television interviews yesterday, that there is really nothing Saddam Hussein can do short of resigning that would stave off attack. This is the kind of talk that has made so many so skeptical of this administration.
As Mr. Bush stood with the prime ministers of Spain, Britain and Portugal yesterday in the Azores, there was much talk of a strong Atlantic alliance. But overstating threats and dismissing the concerns of friends does not build a strong alliance. No matter what happens today, that is exactly what we will need tomorrow. |
