Some question the U.S.' post-war role
By Susan Page, USA TODAY www.usatoday.com
WASHINGTON — Secretary of State Colin Powell's words on Wednesday weren't directed only at the Security Council members sitting around the horseshoe table at the United Nations.
His 90-minute presentation also was aimed at a skeptical American public. President Bush's policy toward Baghdad claims broad support across the country, but that backing erodes if allies aren't on board. And concerns persist about what happens after a war.
Powell used clear words, a calm demeanor and a series of satellite photos and intercepted phone conversations as he laid out the administration's case, step by step. It was proof, he said, that Iraq hasn't complied with U.N. demands for disarmament.
On Capitol Hill, members of Congress in both parties used words like "compelling" to describe the presentation. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who had criticized Bush for moving too quickly to take on Iraq, now sounded convinced. "I no longer think that inspections are going to work," she said.
Most of the Democrats who are seeking the presidential nomination also had words of praise. "Patience is a virtue, but too much patience with dangerous lawlessness is a vice," said Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., who has long urged tough U.S. policy toward Saddam.
But another presidential aspirant, former Vermont governor Howard Dean, said the administration was "pursuing the wrong war." Dean, who has criticized the move toward military action, said, "Terrorism around the globe is a far greater danger to the United States than Iraq."
Several key senators said the president still needs to do more to explain to Americans the war's likely aftermath.
Sen. Ben Nelson, a Democrat who often supports Bush, said his constituents in Nebraska have gone beyond asking about whether targeting Saddam is right or wrong. "People are beginning to raise questions about what are the consequences," he says. "People come up to me in the grocery store or at the filling station and ask, 'Are we going to be attacked back by terrorists or what?' "
At a White House briefing early Wednesday for key members of Congress, Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware said many voters don't realize how long the United States is likely to be engaged in the region after military action is over.
"Many of my constituents believe this will be a re-do of 1991: quick, relatively bloodless and Johnny will come marching home," Biden, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a reference to the first Persian Gulf War.
"But Johnny will not be marching home," he said. This time, he said, Americans should be prepared for a long and expensive period of establishing political stability in Iraq.
Among those listening carefully to Powell on the radio was Max Javid, 59, a cab driver in downtown Washington and naturalized U.S. citizen. He emigrated from Iran in 1969.
"I thought he had good evidence and he showed that Saddam was sinister, no doubt about it," Javid said approvingly. But he still wasn't convinced that diplomacy couldn't succeed. "Disarm, yes," he said. "Attack, no." |
