Rescue the Effort in Iraq

Guerrilla-style forces fire rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns and rifles at U.S. soldiers. Iraqis who cooperate with Americans are murdered. Bitter grumbling grows because Iraqis have yet to see fully restored services, like electricity and water, amid the broiling heat. The basic political restructuring of Iraq lags as debate rages in Washington about the commitment of American resources. In short, the U.S. occupation of Iraq is turning into a disaster.

The Bush administration -- which has offered dismissive, cavalier assurances that all’s well and progressing in Iraq -- must face the problems squarely and respond urgently. Send more troops, perhaps 20,000 to 30,000, to bolster the 140,000-plus there already. Send more civil administrators and aid workers; keep them in Iraq longer. Seek more international help, especially from experienced peacekeepers. Tell the troops, the Iraqis and the American public what the plan is for Iraq and how it will be executed.

The lack of international legitimacy for the war -- a result of Washington’s poor diplomacy -- has handicapped U.S. efforts to rebuild a nation ravaged by years of conflict and sanctions. The Bush administration gave up on getting United Nations authorization for the conflict; that affected it little on the battlefield, but it hurts now -- and a failed Iraqi reconstruction will be even more injurious to America. If U.S. promises go unfulfilled in Iraq, the world will view America as an invading bully that ousts regimes and leaves only wreckage. Its announced ambitions to spread democracy will be hollow.

President Bush’s insistence that the United States will stay the course in Iraq, even with a present price tag of almost $4 billion a month, is far more welcome than his outrageous bluster -- “bring them on” -- concerning those Iraqis who would attack Americans. Iraqis have killed more than two dozen American troops since Bush declared major combat over May 1.

The violence and increasing anti-American sentiment -- visible in graffiti -- underscore the need for more soldiers to beef up patrols, collect intelligence and chase down attackers. The complex mission requires a blend of troops: combat forces to suppress guerrilla assaults and peacekeepers to stop petty crime, reopen schools and get buses back on the road. U.S. units in Iraq deserve rotation home, to be replaced by fresh troops. Morale suffers when combat forces must extend their tours to serve as peacekeepers; replacements can be sharper and more efficient. The Pentagon took a good step last week when it said the 3rd Infantry Division would be brought home after its tour had been lengthened by months.

The administration should press the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for help, specifically asking key alliance members France and Germany -- which opposed this war -- to assist. Washington should give the U.N. a bigger peacekeeping role. India and other nations hint that they will provide troops if this happens.

The Bush administration also should dispatch more diplomats to help establish vital local governments across Iraq more quickly. Retired envoys with Middle East experience could be invaluable in working with fledgling city councils to instill democratic self-rule after decades of Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship.

When Iraqis see their countrymen in charge, the animosity toward U.S. troops will decline. When the electricity and water get back to prewar levels, the political climate will improve. U.S. officials must get Iraqi leaders -- those with untainted pasts -- to believe and spread the word that it’s up to them, not just their occupiers, to rebuild the country. Iraqis also must absorb this history lesson -- America wants to get out of other countries, not stay; think Germany and Japan after World War II.

L. Paul Bremer III, the top U.S. official in Iraq, sped up formation of a national government last week. A permanent government is a year or two away; financing reconstruction is still uncertain. But the U.S. should not pledge Iraq’s future oil and gas revenues to raise funds. Those are Iraqi resources, to be spent as Iraqis wish -- not Americans, already vulnerable to claims that they toppled Hussein to get Iraq’s oil.

Each day of chaos increases Iraqi anger at and misunderstanding of America. Most Iraqis believe America can do anything it wants: Washington desires oil, so fields were guarded quickly and not set afire; if the electricity doesn’t work, it must be because of U.S. wishes.

When it went to war, the U.S. accepted responsibility for rebuilding Iraq. This task will take years. But now the administration must display as much urgency about stopping guerrilla attacks and improving Iraqis’ lives as it did in marching into combat.