Remember when the biggest accusation against George Bush was that he didn't pay attention to the opinions of the international community, particularly the United Nations? Well, let's listen to what
some in that community are saying to day about the defeatist ideas that the Democrats on Capitol Hill are pushing.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged U.S. policy-makers yesterday to exercise "great caution" in considering any rapid withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Iraq.
"It is not my place to inject myself into this discussion taking place between the American people, government and Congress," said Mr. Ban, who was expected to repeat the message during meetings on Capitol Hill today.
"But I'd like to tell you that a great caution should be taken for the sake of the Iraqi people," he said at a U.N. press conference. "Any abrupt withdrawal or decision may lead to a further deterioration."
And he's not the only one.
Other international critics of the war are also warning that a premature U.S. departure from Iraq could have devastating consequences.
"I hated the Iraq war, [but] a hasty withdrawal would be dangerous for Iraq, for the region and for U.S. interests," International Crisis Group analyst Joost Hiltermann said in Washington yesterday. He argued in favor of a regional approach to Iraq's problems.
Several Arab diplomats and leaders of relief agencies also have warned that Iraq would devolve into chaos with massive casualties if the American troops left too soon.
It used to be that every criticism of Bush by Kofi Annan was taken as further proof of what the United States should really be doing. Do the words of Ban Ki-moon have as much resonance among all those multilateralists today?
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