From today’s Washington Post,
Over the past week, key U.S. allies have sent an unambiguous message to the Bush administration to give United Nations weapons inspectors in Iraq time to complete their work, even if it means delaying the onset of hostilities.
The allied opposition to an early war with Iraq has strengthened the hand of moderates in the administration who have been arguing against setting a firm deadline for Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to comply with demands for giving up his weapons of mass destruction, according to U.S. officials and allied diplomats. According to these sources, the odds of a February war appear to be receding, barring a major Iraqi misstep that would galvanize Western governments and public opinion.
“The odds have gone down for war,” said a well-placed U.S. official. “We don’t have a good war plan; the inspectors have unprecedented access to Iraq; we have just started giving them intelligence; we have to give them more time to see how this works. There is no reason to stop the process until it can’t proceed any further.”
The apparent relaxation in administration rhetoric contrasts with statements by President Bush late last year advocating a “zero tolerance” policy toward Hussein. After weeks of insisting that U.S. forces were poised to intervene in Iraq if Hussein failed to properly account for his weapons of mass destruction, administration spokesmen are now echoing their European counterparts, and saying the inspectors should be given time to do their work.
This is what happens when our President lacks the moral courage to act independently and instead relies on a coalition for approval. He has surrendered U.S. sovereignty and is now in the sorry position of begging for cooperation. Hopefully he will gain courage and go it alone. We will see.