Bush Prepares Iraq Plan That Includes UN

With troop surge faltering, new strategy spreads responsibility
By Ben Worthen
Posted May 23, 2007 11:22 AM CDT
Bush Prepares Iraq Plan That Includes UN
Vietnam veteran George Samek salutes among demonstrators in support of President Bush's Iraq War policies, Wednesday May 23, 2007, outside the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn. Bush supporters and anti-war protesters lined opposite sides of the street leading to the Academy where Bush will...   (Associated Press)

Four years after the US went into Iraq without Security Council support, the administration may be ready to ask the UN for help. The Guardian reports that a plan to "internationalize" the peace process reflects President Bush's concern about the 2008 elections and the apparent failure of the troop surge. "Iraq probably can't be fixed," says an ex-administration official.

With Kofi Annan, who opposed the invasion, out of the picture, the US may have an easier time securing support when it approaches the UN in September. Giving the UN, other international institutions and Iraq's neighbors expanded roles would allow the US to share responsibility for Iraq's future without committing to timelines, which the White House has staunchly opposed. (More troop surge stories.)

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