President says faith gives him great comfort.
Wed Aug 20, 6:34 AM ET
By Laurence McQuillan, USA TODAY
President Bush (news - web sites) says his religious faith is helping him deal with the challenges of the presidency, and he credits the Bible with inspiring him to push for federal funding to fight AIDS (news - web sites). U.S. Rules Out U.N. Commanders in Iraq
By BARRY SCHWEID, AP Diplomatic Writer
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration is optimistic it can attract peacekeeping troops for Iraq (news - web sites) from at least India, Pakistan and Turkey by placing the operation under the U.N. flag.
As tentative drafts of a U.N. Security Council resolution were circulated Friday among administration officials, however, the State Department had yet to attract a consensus among them for expanding the U.N. role in Iraq.
Nor were France, Russia or several other countries willing to go along unless the United States went beyond simply putting the operation under U.N. sponsorship. Both France and Russia have vetoes on the U.N. Security Council.
Within the State Department, where Deputy Secretary Richard Armitage floated what was described as a trial balloon for a larger U.N. role Tuesday, strong opposition arose to U.N. commanders for any military operations in Iraq.
A department official said some in the administration consider the United Nations (news - web sites) incapable of commanding or managing combat operations in Iraq and might even send in incompetent troops to provide a multinational look.
The administration would not consider putting the operation under U.N. control, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
France is pressing for an international force. At the same time, a State Department official said, France, Russia and other European governments want greater shares of reconstructing Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion, including some of the lucrative contracts American firms have obtained.
French President Jacques Chirac said Friday in Paris that the United States should transfer political power to the Iraqi people immediately. Only the United Nations, he said, "is fit to provide its legitimacy."
On the Italian island of Sardinia, visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin (news - web sites) said Friday that Russia and other Security Council members are drafting a proposed resolution to bring the United Nations strongly into Iraq's reconstruction.
"We are witnessing an escalation of violence in Iraq," Putin said. "The very first task is to stop this spiral of violence, and we believe the most effective way to do this is with the real participation of the United Nations."
Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi restated Italy's support for the U.S.-led war but said, "My personal desire is that the U.N. take a decision that would allow all countries of the West to make their contribution."
Several administration officials stressed that while potential drafts of a Security Council resolution were being considered, there was no decision yet to submit one.
That will happen, a senior official said, only if there when the Americans have a strong likelihood of council passage.
The U.S. goal is to have a winning resolution ready for consideration by foreign leaders when they gather in New York in three weeks for the annual special session of the U.N. General Assembly.
The aim is to provide authorization for countries such as India, Pakistan and Turkey to contribute peacekeeping troops. The governments then could ask their parliaments for approval. In all three cases U.S. officials expected were optimistic about their chances.
Until now, the administration has limited the United Nations to a marginal role in Iraq. Meantime, the United States and a few allied nations handle almost all the military and reconstruction necessary to establish restore calm in the country as it makes a transition from rule by deposed President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites).
Currently, 138,000 U.S. troops are in Iraq, and Britain and 26 other countries have contributed about 23,000.
Since May 1, when President Bush (news - web sites) announced an end to major hostilities, 144 U.S. soldiers have died. That's six more than those killed during the war that began with a March 20 U.S. invasion.
James Dobbins, a former senior State Department official involved in nation-building in Afghanistan (news - web sites), Bosnia, Kosovo, Somalia and Haiti, said the administration had begun a bargaining process "in which we say we are prepared to give other countries a voice in this, but we are asking how much are they going to contribute."
Dobbins, who now directs Rand's international security and defense policy program, said in an interview that "no one is going to challenge that the United States is going to be the dominant contributor, the dominant voice. But it is going to be under U.N. auspices if this succeeds."
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In an interview appearing next week in the October issue of Ladies' Home Journal, Bush says it is possible to function in the presidency without believing in God, and probably some of his predecessors did not believe in God, but he finds that faith helps.
"When you realize that there is an Almighty God on whom you can rely, it provides great comfort," he says. "That's why I read every morning, the Bible and scriptures and Charles Stanley devotionals. It matters a lot to me personally." Stanley, a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, is a TV and radio evangelist and author of books on Christian living.
Bush, a Methodist, often refers to his faith in public remarks but does not link it to government policy.
"You shouldn't fear a religious person," Bush says. "The Bible talks about love and compassion. ... That's really a lot behind my passion on AIDS policy, for example." Bush surprised some conservatives in January when he asked Congress to raise the five-year budget on fighting AIDS in Africa from $5 billion to $15 billion.
In the interview, Bush cited no other positions influenced by his faith. White House advisers say there are other examples: his stand against abortion, his opposition to legalizing gay marriage, his efforts to make it easier for religious organizations to receive federal funding for programs that offer community services and his attempt to revive Middle East peace efforts.
Bush was interviewed with first lady Laura Bush by Peggy Noonan, who was a speechwriter for President Reagan.
A survey during the 2000 presidential campaign by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that 70% of Americans wanted their president to be strongly religious, but 50% felt uncomfortable when politicians discussed their faith publicly.
"The spirit of religion is a strong one in the United States," says presidential scholar Stephen Hess of the liberal-leaning Brookings Institution. "But politicians need to walk a fine line. Religious talk is always going to anger some people."
Also in the interview:
The Bushes say their marriage is stronger since they entered the White House. "Perhaps it's because of the pressures of the life we live," the president says, citing the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The first lady adds, "All the things that might've irritated me, like not hanging up his towels, I don't have to worry about anymore. Someone in the White House hangs up the towels."
Bush says he and his father have switched roles when it comes to the news media. "When he was the president, I would agonize when I would hear things said about him that I knew were not true," says Bush, who had a reputation for angry exchanges with reporters when his father was in the White House. Now it is the former president who gets "all steamed up" about some things he reads about his son. "I end up spending time with my dad telling him not to worry," Bush says.
On 21-year-old daughters Barbara and Jenna, Bush says he needs patience. "I've got to allow them to become the bright young ladies that they're becoming at their own pace." Laura Bush says her advice to them on finding a husband is: "Just wait till you find somebody like your daddy." The president calls that "a pretty low standard."
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