The President Must Command; What the Iraq question needs right now is a totally engaged American president, immersed in every element of the military operation.(Column)

Publication: Newsweek

Publication Date: 26-APR-04

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Byline: Fareed Zakaria, Write the author at comments@fareedzakaria.com.

Desperate to stop the transition in Iraq from coming apart, the United States has finally done what it said it would never do--give the United Nations a central political role. It may be too late. The occupation has already been branded an all-American affair and the move might be seen as window dressing. Still, better to try it than persist in the old course. But this rectifies only one of the two major errors of the occupation. The other was to allow a security vacuum to develop within Iraq. Things looked better last week, but sieges in two cities, constant explosions and a tape of a captive American GI are reminders of how grim the situation essentially is. Iraq remains...

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