Mend Fences, Fix Finances

President Bush showed welcome restraint at his Monday news conference commenting on the U.S. capture of Saddam Hussein. His refusal to gloat allows the emphasis of one of the best developments in months to rest where it belongs, on the benefit to Iraq. His measured comments also renew an opportunity to mend relations with two European countries, Germany and France, that have been allies for decades and whose assistance the U.S. requires in many areas, including the war on terror.

Their opposition to war in Iraq rankled the administration, but they have cooperated with Washington on other matters. Bush recognized that -- sort of. He noted Germany’s commitment of troops to Afghanistan, although not France’s peacekeeping soldiers there. But he singled out both countries, plus Britain, for pressuring Iran not to develop nuclear weapons. That was deserved praise and a contrast to pronouncements by some in Washington that the Europeans are going too easy on Iran.

Bush sends his personal envoy, former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, this week to try to persuade France, Germany and other countries to forgive or reschedule more than $100 billion in Iraqi debts. Baker should emphasize not just the need to lift the crushing burden on a nation devastated by decades of war and dictatorship but also Bush’s desire to limit the quarrel over the war to “a disagreement on this particular issue.” The administration should ensure its actions match the president’s rhetoric.

It is unfortunate the president missed the chance to reverse the Pentagon decision to limit prime contractors on $18.6 billion in U.S.-financed reconstruction to firms from countries backing the U.S. on Iraq. Instead he talked of “other ways to participate,” presumably as subcontractors.

Halliburton Co. earlier won more than $5 billion in Iraq contracts. The Pentagon last week said a Halliburton subsidiary may have overcharged the U.S. Army by more than $1 per gallon for nearly 57 million gallons of gasoline; the company denies it. Bush said Friday that “we expect that money to be repaid” if an overcharge was levied.

Financial irregularities support claims, most prominent in Arab nations, that the invasion of Iraq was about oil and business, not weapons of mass destruction -- yet to be found. The spotlight on Halliburton is brighter because Dick Cheney headed the company from 1995 until he ran for vice president in 2000.

Tough audits and clean contracts are required to protect U.S. taxpayers from gouging and to ensure their money achieves its purpose, the reconstruction of Iraq. Hussein’s detention should boost that effort. Still, as Bush noted in his remarks, much hard work and peril lie ahead, not just for the U.S. but even more so for the Iraqis as they exercise new freedoms.