Un-Answered Questions at the UN

Daily Reality Check
Un-Answered Questions at the UN
9/21/2004
American Family Voices
This morning President Bush delivered a speech before the United Nations general assembly. Based on its vague contents -- which bore a resemblance to his non-specific address at the Republican National Convention -- the Bush Doctrine appears to have been boiled down to this: high-minded rhetoric about liberty and dignity, but no real answers about anything.

President Bush didn't bother to explain to the United Nations how his administration botched the intelligence in the run-up to the Iraqi invasion. (If he had, it would have been news to all American citizens as well.) He mentioned "weapons of mass destruction" just once in his speech, which matched the total number of times he mentioned al Qaeda (omitted from the speech entirely was Osama bin Laden).

Bush talked broadly about his belief in human dignity, but once again when presented with a high-profile opportunity, he failed to offer a real plan for dealing with Iraq.

Here's how Bush assessed the situation: "We can expect terrorist attacks to escalate as Afghanistan and Iraq approach national elections. The work ahead is demanding. But these difficulties will not shake our conviction that the future of Afghanistan and Iraq is a future of liberty. The proper response to difficulty is not to retreat, it is to prevail."

But if troop strength is barely sufficient to maintain stability now, how will US forces deal with escalating attacks in the days ahead? President Bush offered no answer in his speech, but other news reports indicate that the administration will tap into a $25 billion emergency war fund. Last week, the White House announced it will re-route $3.5 billion from water, power and other reconstruction projects to beef up security.

These, of course, are signs that efforts in Iraq are not going nearly as well as the administration would have everyone believe. But diverting money and making grand proclamations about American resolve aren't real, long-term solutions for Iraq. That requires a good, hard, fair and balanced assessment of administration policies – something that this White House has been loathe to do.

But this administration must make real changes, and soon. Each new day brings more bad news from the region. Today it's reports of the beheading of an American hostage. And a roadside bomb north of Baghdad. And a car bomb in Baghdad's airport. And the list goes on.

Near the conclusion of his speech this morning, President Bush declared: "Each of us alone can only do so much. Together, we can accomplish so much more."

The continued mess in Iraq, and the continued strain on US forces, is unfortunately proving the first part of his statement exactly right.