U.S. may be forced to turn to U.N.

CHRISTOPHER MARQUIS; The New York Times

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration, which spurned the United Nations in its drive to depose Saddam Hussein in Iraq, is finding itself forced back into the arms of the international body because other nations refuse to contribute peacekeeping troops or reconstruction money without U.N. approval.

With the costs of stabilizing Iraq hovering at $4 billion a month, and with American troops being killed at a steady rate, administration officials acknowledge they are rethinking their strategy and may seek a U.N. resolution for help that would placate other nations, like India, France and Germany.

Administration officials contend they are being practical, but within their ranks are policy-makers sharply critical of the United Nations, and those who would consider it humiliating to seek its mantle after risking American lives in the invasion that ousted Saddam.

Anyone could have predicted this. Its precisely why I felt securing firm U.N. support for the war was essential. This nation is now going to be sucking hind you-know-what as we bend over backwards to get U.N. help. The Bush spinmeisters will try and play it differently, but as reconstruction costs rise and American lives are lost almost daily, we will not be in the best position to negotiate on our terms with the U.N. The American public has been taken for a ride.