‘US Bound to UN Umbrella in Iraq’

In the editorial entitled "US Needs Friends in Iraq", the paper stressed the need for renewed UN intervention to obtain the support of its allies, such as Turkey, India and Pakistan. Under pressure, due to escalating attacks and an impotent temporary administration, the newspaper warned that in time many more Americans and Iraqi lives would be lost and the situation would be further complicated.

Apart from facing an average of 12 attacks a day, the Times noted that the US was also struggling to meet Iraq’s basic needs, such as electricity, water, communication and security. It also pointed out that predictions that the resistance would collapse after the deaths of Saddam Hussein’s sons fell flat. There have been 17 US fatalities since the killings of Uday and Kusay.

It commented that the US was deceiving itself by thinking that it could single-handedly lead Iraq from tyranny to democracy, and that this objective could only be reached through UN intervention. While the US admits that it needs international military support it failed to see the necessity of a UN umbrella yet. Turkey, France, Germany, India and Arab countries want the UN to play a more active role in order to support the US in military and financial aspects.