Bush pushes for U.N. in Iraq

President Bush last night called on the United Nations to take greater control of postwar Iraq, which he said has degenerated into the central battleground in the global war against terrorism.

“Members of the United Nations now have an opportunity, and the responsibility, to assume a broader role in assuring that Iraq becomes a free and democratic nation,” Mr. Bush said in a rare prime-time address to the nation.

For the first time, the president said it would cost $87 billion to continue peacekeeping operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, with the bulk of that money — $66 billion — going directly to the Pentagon. Billions more would go toward Iraq’s reconstruction, including the establishment of police and military forces.

The speech came amid growing doubts about America’s ability to single-handedly restore order in Iraq, the site of almost daily attacks against GIs and three major bombings in recent weeks. More Americans have died in Iraq since May 1, when the president declared an end to major combat operations, than during the three-week war itself.

Although the United Nations balked at backing the war, Mr. Bush recently has resigned himself to asking the world body for help in winning the peace. He said “enlisting the support of other nations” is now a primary component of the administration’s Iraq strategy.

“We cannot let past differences interfere with present duties,” Mr. Bush said.

By taking his case directly to the American people, the president sought to counter the daily drumbeat of negative headlines from Iraq. He implored Americans to take the long view of the war on terror, which he said will require the kind of patience and resolve it took to rebuild Germany and Japan after World War II.

“Two years ago, I told the Congress and the country that the war on terror would be a lengthy war, a different kind of war, fought on many fronts in many places,” he said from the White House.

“Iraq is now the central front. Enemies of freedom are making a desperate stand there — and there they must be defeated. This will take time and require sacrifice.”

The president’s 19-minute speech did little to quell mounting criticism from Democratic presidential contenders, such as Howard Dean, who waited just 10 minutes after Mr. Bush stopped speaking to critique the performance during a conference call with reporters.

Mr. Dean later issued a statement saying the speech, while welcome, “does not make up for 15 months of misleading the American people on why we should go to war against Iraq or 15 weeks of mismanaging the reconstruction effort since we have been there.”

Other Democrats lashed out even before the president spoke. Rep. Jane Harman, ranking Democrat on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said yesterday that postwar planning for Iraq is “a shambles. I want the president to tell us what’s really in store for Americans,” she said on CNN’s “Late Edition.”

“How much are we going to pay? What is the possible loss of life going forward?” she said. “And how is he going to repair the damage to our relationship with international organizations, so that they step up and bear a reasonable share of this?”

Mr. Bush touched on some of those issues, although not with a level of specificity likely to satisfy his Democratic detractors.

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