Cato Institute
by Ted Galen Carpenter

12/02/05

There always has been a dearth of evidence to support the 'international rescue' thesis. Contrary to the wishful thinking of both the Bush administration and its liberal opponents, other countries are not eager to spend their money on transforming Iraq. They are even less willing to sacrifice the lives of their military personnel on the altar of nation-building. Russian President Vladimir Putin succinctly expressed the attitude of most governments on the eve of the invasion when he responded to a reporter's question about whether Russia would join in the venture. 'Yeah, like we're really that stupid,' he replied. The brutal reality is that the Bush administration has conducted the Iraq intervention in the only way it could have proceeded -- as an overwhelmingly U.S.-British venture with a handful of good wishes and token contributions from the so-called coalition of the willing. The hope for a truly international mission always was a non-starter -- and it remains so to this day...

http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=5228


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp