WP: U.N. Iraq Resolution A Tough Sell

[kskiska]

Monday, April 26, 2004; Page A01

The Bush administration is preparing a broad U.N. resolution to endorse its plan to transfer power in Iraq, but it may face a tough sell on proposals guaranteeing legal protection for foreign troops and letting Washington make the final judgments on Saddam Hussein's weapons programs, according to U.S. and U.N. officials.

The scope of the powers scheduled to be handed over to an Iraqi provisional government on June 30 could also trigger contentious debate, the officials said. Some key U.N. members are already questioning whether the United States will actually retain significant control.

The general goal of a new resolution is to rally international support behind the new provisional government, which is still being negotiated by U.S. and U.N. officials, and ease year-long international friction over the U.S.-led military intervention to oust Hussein.

With serious deliberations on a draft now underway within the administration, U.S. officials are optimistic about rallying enough Security Council support -- unlike the resolution authorizing the use of force last year. "We are working on such a resolution, and I'm confident we'll be able to obtain such a resolution," Secretary of State Colin L. Powell told Dutch RTL television Friday.

Yet what some U.S. officials have already dubbed the "mega-resolution" may be in trouble even before a draft is finalized. "This could be the last big diplomatic battle over U.S. Iraq policy," said a senior U.S. official involved in Iraq policy.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41962-2004Apr25.html

[grytpype]

1. With serious deliberations on a draft now underway within the administrati

With serious deliberations on a draft now underway within the administration

[nolabels]

2. In a related story : Bush catches Saddam disease

Apr. 25, 2004. 01:00 AM
Bush catches Saddam disease

RICHARD GWYN

From the moment the Americans invaded Iraq, Saddam Hussein was in denial about what was happening. He refused to believe that the American military machine was as awesomely efficient as it is; he refused to believe that very few of his troops would fight and die for him.

Saddam, indeed, was in denial long before that. He refused to believe the Americans would actually invade
(snip)
(snip)
Bush's options have narrowed down to one that is stark and brutal. This is how to get out with a minimum loss of face.

His exit strategy for doing this is now to use the United Nations as a cover. Of all the policy reversals, this is the most complete. Once derided and excluded from Iraq, the U.N. is now being welcomed in to provide the vital ingredient of legitimacy.

Whether the U.N. can do this job under even the best of circumstances is an open question. It has botched nation building in Kosovo. It is enmeshed in a massive scandal over corruption in its pre-war oil-for-food program for Iraq.

The U.N.'s prospects for success in Iraq are faint if it is seen as an instrument for giving legitimacy to a continued U.S. presence in Iraq.'
(snip)
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1082758210889&call_pageid=968256290204&col=968350116795

[sundancekid]

4. welcome to bushworld, a geographic paragon of that place named DeNial

It was so perfectly laid out by Maureen Dowd in the NYT this past weekend in her column "The Orwellian Olsens" ...
<snip>
In Bushworld, we can create an exciting Iraqi democracy as long as it doesn't control its own military, pass any laws or have any power.

In Bushworld, we can win over Falluja by bulldozing it.

In Bushworld, it was worth going to war so Iraqis can express their feelings ("Down With America!") without having their tongues cut out, although we cannot yet allow them to express intemperate feelings in newspapers ("Down With America!") without shutting them down.

In Bushworld, it's fine to take $700 million that Congress provided for the war in Afghanistan and 9/11 recovery and divert it to the war in Iraq that you're insisting you're not planning.

In Bushworld, you don't consult your father, the expert in being president during a war with Iraq, but you do talk to your Higher Father, who can't talk back to warn you to get an exit strategy or chide you for using Him for political purposes.

In Bushworld, it's O.K. to run for re-election as the avenger of 9/11, even as you make secret deals with the Arab kingdom where most of the 9/11 hijackers came from.

In Bushworld, you get to strut around like a tough military guy and paint your rival as a chicken hawk, even though he's the one who won medals in combat and was praised by his superior officers for fulfilling all his obligations.

In Bushworld, it makes sense to press for transparency in Mr. and Mrs. Rival while cultivating your own opacity.

In Bushworld, you can reign as the antiterror president even after hearing an intelligence report about Al Qaeda's plans to attack America and then stepping outside to clear brush.

In Bushworld, those who dissemble about the troops and money it will take to get Iraq on its feet are patriots, while those who are honest are patronizingly marginalized.

In Bushworld, they struggle to keep church and state separate in Iraq, even as they increasingly merge the two in America.

In Bushworld, you can claim to be the environmental president on Earth Day while being the industry president every other day.

In Bushworld, you brag about how well Afghanistan is going, even though soldiers like Pat Tillman are still dying and the Taliban are running freely around the border areas, hiding Osama and delaying elections.

In Bushworld, imperfect intelligence is good enough to knock over Iraq. But even better evidence that North Korea is building the weapons that Saddam could only dream about is hidden away.

In Bushworld, the C.I.A. says it can't find out whether there are W.M.D. in Iraq unless we invade on the grounds that there are W.M.D.

In Bushworld, there's no irony that so many who did so much to avoid the Vietnam draft have now strained the military so much that lawmakers are talking about bringing back the draft.

In Bushworld, we're making progress in the war on terror by fighting a war that creates terrorists.
<snip>
more...
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/25/opinion/25DOWD.html

[Moderator]

5. sundancekid

Per DU copyright rules
please post only four
paragraphs from the
news source.

Thank you.

DU Moderator

[Generator]

7. Bush is going down

"In Bushworld, it's O.K. to run for re-election as the avenger of 9/11, even as you make secret deals with the Arab kingdom where most of the 9/11 hijackers came from."

I just had to post that again from Dowd.


Ah, BushCo wants to control the search for weapons heh? I guess they are trying to have their cake and lie about it's sugar content too. And the UN answer is?

Bush is going down.

[grytpype]

3. Damn, this is a bombshell.

It looks like Bush is not in a position to get what he wants anymore... he's being forced to make major concessions to the international community.

Unbelievable facts from this article:

Russia, China, Pakistan, and other Security Council members want the US to give up control of Iraq to the UN.

Bush wants to dismantle the UNMOVIC weapons inspectors so his own Iraq Survey Group will have the last word on Saddam's WMD mass destruction related program activities. The Russian ambassador to the UN has spoken out in favor of keeping UNMOVIC together and seeing a final report.

"There is a growing sense of unease within the administration about the enormity of what has to be achieved in such a short time, administration officials say."

[Just Me]

6. Naw,...remember, * doesn't give a crap. He'll just do it alone. *eom*

[Nordic65]

8. This is not going to end well...

The incompetent jerks at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue are soooo in over their heads. They not only lack any plan for the future Iraq, they wouldn't even be able to recognize a plan if they saw one.