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Pastimes : Rarely is the question asked: "is our children learning" -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Sladek who wrote (1089)	10/28/2003 9:24:01 PM
From: John Sladek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2171

28Oct03-Toronto Star-Editorial: Iraq's 'liberators' need to regroup Oct. 28, 2003. 01:00 AM Editorial: Iraq's 'liberators' need to regroup U.S. President George Bush sees nothing more than the "desperate" acts of a few renegades in the wave of Baghdad terror bombings that have taken 40 lives in the past few days and wounded 230. American military commanders, however, fear something much worse. Six months after Bush's invasion to topple Saddam Hussein, 67 per cent of Iraqis now see the foreign troops as occupiers, up from 46 per cent. Only 15 per cent see them as liberators, down from 43 per cent. This is an ominous trend, punctuated by yesterday's car bombings at the Red Cross headquarters and at police stations — the single bloodiest day so far in the post-war period. And the brazen rocket attack Sunday on a heavily guarded hotel being used by American officials, including deputy defence secretary Paul Wolfowitz, was the most defiant. Having seized Baghdad, the Americans can't find Saddam, much less deliver the security that Iraqis need. While these massacres hurt ordinary Iraqis and reflect the murderous nature of Saddam's regime, they also imply a level of co-ordinated resistance that Bush can no longer simply dismiss out of hand. Iraqis are chafing under occupation. Between 12,000 and 16,000 died in Bush's drive to smash Saddam, against the United Nations' better judgment, and millions now bemoan the invaders' failure to restore credible government, security, power, water, phone service and sanitation. The Americans find themselves nearly alone, trying to quell rebellion, refloat Iraq's finances, rebuild its infrastructure and dictate the return to self-rule. It is a dangerous, thankless task that has cost 400 allied lives. With 130,000 American troops and 20,000 allies in Iraq, Bush has appealed for help from others. But in vain. Other countries have made it clear that help won't arrive as long as he denies the U.N. a serious role. Nor can Washington expect much financial assistance. Bush will spend $87 billion on the occupation, including $20 billion to rebuild, but has squeezed just $4 billion in grants and $9 billion in loans from others at a donors conference last week. That's well short of the $56 billion the World Bank estimates Iraq will need over four years to rebuild. With every passing day, Iraq becomes a bigger challenge than many Americans imagined. Having shattered Saddam's regime, to the delight of many Iraqis, they are making themselves unwelcome occupiers. Rather than deny that a problem exists, Bush should invite the U.N. to assume political responsibility for restoring Iraqi sovereignty as quickly as possible, backed up by U.S. firepower. The world should then provide the moral support, additional troops and resources needed to deny Saddam and his cronies a comeback, and to secure democratic self-rule. torontostar.ca