The Fallout From Fallouja

The images out of Fallouja on Wednesday were familiar and horrifying. A frenzied mob dragged the burned bodies of four U.S. contractors through the streets and hanged two of the corpses from a bridge over the Euphrates River. The contractors did not arrive in Iraq as warriors but as defenders of food shipments for a population battered by years of repression and war. As more sober Iraqis lament, the barbaric treatment of the corpses runs counter to Islamic law.

Like the Somali thugs who in 1993 dragged the bodies of fallen U.S. Rangers through the dusty streets of downtown Mogadishu, the Fallouja murderers hoped to create a media spectacle. On Thursday, in a separate attack, a roadside bomb injured three American troops near Fallouja.

The Bush administration charged into Iraq without proper forethought. But once there, to its credit, the administration has proceeded cautiously over the last year in avoiding military confrontations that would further inflame the already volatile Sunni Triangle, which formed the base for Saddam Hussein’s supporters. Fallouja, which received favored treatment from Hussein, has been particularly dangerous for coalition forces. The U.S. military has shown prudent restraint: Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt soberly stated that U.S. troops would respond to the latest killings “at the time and place of our choosing.” But as imperative as it is to make it clear that these gruesome murders will not be tolerated, the United States faces a broader problem. It must devise a coherent plan for fulfilling its commitment to a limited restoration of sovereignty by June 30 to Iraqis. And as the United States hands back power, it must do so in a way that defuses the appeal of the insurgents. The White House has been vague about the powers that the Iraqi Governing Council, which it handpicked, will enjoy before free elections that are to take place by January, and about the role that it wants the United Nations to play.

Secretary of State Colin L. Powell took a step forward Thursday, stating that he is confident the U.N. Security Council will back a resolution before July 1 authorizing the continued presence of U.S. and other foreign troops. In addition, the U.N. is planning to help prepare Iraqis to conduct a free election. But the administration also should ensure that the Iraqi Governing Council doesn’t just serve as a figurehead for the continued U.S. presence in Iraq, but plays a substantial role in running government ministries and ensuring a fair election that is accepted by Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds. Any election will receive that acceptance more readily if Iraqis see that they themselves are doing the heavy lifting of ensuring a fair vote.

The faster Bush moves to push for real Iraqi self-rule, the greater the chance of limiting the damage from this ill-considered foreign adventure.