Add to the cost and the chaos of post-combat Iraq a brand new buzzword: Cooperation. The American-led war left European allies and the United Nations in its dust. It then became an American occupation, with U.S. leaders saying we don’t want and we don’t need your help. The script has changed.
Bygones, bygones, Secretary of State Colin Powell said in a press conference yesterday. International consensus never looked so good. The truth is American coffers aren’t deep enough; American soldiers aren’t numerous enough, and George Bush, heading into an election year, isn’t so sure anymore that America can go it alone. Seizing the moment for Iraq’s security, sizing up the prospects for a multilateral force, and saving face at the United Nations.
Guests:
Robert Orr, Executive Director for Research, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government
Husain Haqqani, visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Dr. Waheguru Pal Sidhu, senior associate at the International Peace Academy in New York
Bulent Aliriza, Senior Associate and Director, Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Turkey Project