NEW YORK--Haughty as it was, George W. Bush's request for United Nations (news - web sites) help in Iraq deserves credit. It is, after all, his first tacit acknowledgement that his war is a fiscal, political and military catastrophe. Democrats and Republicans differ on how much command authority to cede to the U.N., but everyone agrees that we should replace as many of our besieged occupation troops as possible with peacekeepers from other nations.
For the first time since 9/11, Americans are on the same page. Common sense is back: Bush's popularity ratings are at a record low. People finally understand that this war is killing too many and costing too much. (The original Congressional estimate of $50-$60 billion has mushroomed to $87 billion--and that's just for a few months. Another five years of occupation could run more than half a trillion dollars.) Unless something changes fast in a big way, there's no end in sight. "It reminds me of Vietnam," Marine General Anthony Zinni, former head of U.S. Central Command, says. But we don't have to keep on keeping on. We can get out of Iraq early, save lives, and reduce anti-Americanism around the world. But we'll have to do something new.
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