US mismanaged the Turkish peacekeepers for Iraq.

Almost nine in every 10 American fear the United States will get bogged down in Iraq; and six in every 10 think the world’s only superpower has suffered an unacceptable level of casualties there — the gloomy picture taken before the worst day for America’s occupying forces since the end of the "formal" war.

Everyday the situation in Iraq is getting deadlier for the Americans, witness the recent incursion into the civil life of soldiers who had been sent home for a break. Judging from the abundance of American flags ornamenting many homes and vehicles, Mr Bush should not be in any difficulty finding new Rambos to fight the evil men of Baghdad. In America, the streets are full of fat, noisy heroes?

In fact one must be surprised if anyone was surprised when a ground-to-air missile, launched by Iraqi insurgents, hit a U.S. heavylift helicopter, killing 16 U.S. ground infantry and a second one missed the second chopper by inches. If there is any room for surprise about the attack, it should be wondering why it did not happen before — the defenseless Chinooks are ideal targets for an estimated 1,000 or so ground-to-air missiles the insurgents are believed to possess.

A year before presidential elections, the number of Americans who approve of Mr Bush’s handling of Iraq is at 47 percent, a fall of 28 percentage points from the end of April, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll. Disapproval is at 51 percent, the first time the figure has broken 50 since the war began.

Besides further demoralizing an American public increasingly worried about Mr Bush’s war on Iraq, the attack in Fallujah, where Turkish peacekeepers could be stationed, must have added new parameters to the difficult equation in the Washington-Ankara axis. Before the attack, the plan to send Turkish troops to Iraq was totally on hold. Now is it less on hold.

War is full of ironies. These days an increasing number of bigwigs in Washington, save for Paul Wolfowitz, deputy defense secretary, blame the Kurds for every American coffin wrapped in Stars and Stripes — for the Kurds have been the main opposition to Turkish troops on Iraqi soil. By the same thinking, the Turks should be thankful to the Kurds — for not having to get coffins wrapped in the Crescent and Star.

Before the weekend’s successful hunt for the U.S. Chinook, Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of State (for now), was a solitary man whose quest for Turkish troops in Iraq echoed and faded in the corridors of the Pentagon. Remember, as recently as Oct. 13, Mr Wolfowitz had advised the White House "to give up on the plan to have Turkish peacekeepers in Iraq." Mr Wolfowitz’s advice reflected the dominant thinking in Washington that the U.S. administration should avoid making things worse by trying to make them better. If the Turkish troops arrived in Iraq 86 years after they had deserted their former colony, Mr Wolfowitz thinks, even northern Iraq, the country’s quietest part since the beginning of the war, could go violent.

The most recent attack, however, partly justifies Mr Rumsfeld’s thinking. All the same, it has created further suspicion in Ankara about the wisdom of sending troops into dangerous terrain. Inevitably, the divisions between the government and the military will be deeper in the days ahead. With every news of violence the government is becoming less willing to send troops to Iraq, fearing a PR disaster only months ahead of local polls. That, however, is not exactly what the military has in mind. Blame it on the divergence of goals!

President Bush and his team of experimentalists may or may not be able to afford to continue on with their game of trial and error in Iraq. But they have obviously mismanaged the issue of Turkish peacekeepers for Iraq. They privately point to (mostly Kurdish) Iraqi opposition for their reluctance on Turkish troops after an initial (over)enthusiasm. In that case, a couple of questions must be answered.

Did the bigwigs in Washington really think the Iraqis would embrace their former oppressors as saviors? And, if not, why did they push the Turks so hard for parliamentary approval for a plan they would later want to abort? and cause much embarrassment for all?

The Americans have lost control over Iraq. They must decide, sooner rather than later, if they really need a Turkish hand for help. Have Mr Bush, Mr Wolfowitz and their fellow cowboys ever thought of sending Kurdish, instead of Turkish, peacekeepers to central Iraq? If not, they should start weighing the pros and cons of enhancing their not-so-secret love affair with the Kurds.