I know it’s a competitive category, but I feel compelled to nominate the decision to bar France, Germany, Canada, and Russia from Iraq reconstruction contracts as The Dumbest Thing The Bush White House Has Done Lately. It’s tough to choose sometimes, but this one really is breathtaking.
Bush personally began defending the move yesterday, though, true to form, his arguments didn’t make much sense.
“The U.S. people, the taxpayers understand why it makes sense for countries that risk lives to participate in the contracts in Iraq,” Bush said. “It’s very simple. Our people risk their lives. Coalition, friendly coalition folks risk their lives, and, therefore, the contracting is going to reflect that. And that’s what the U.S. taxpayers expect.”
Bush has it backwards. Of course it doesn’t “make sense” to limit the contracts. It makes sense to bring other countries into the process to relieve the enormous burden on the United States. It makes sense to open the contract process so we can begin to mend many of the alliances Bush has so carelessly cast aside. It makes sense to allow other countries to compete for reconstruction contracts if we’re going to ask them to forgive Iraqi debts.
There are also practical concerns. The Bush administration pulled together a coalition of countries — which the president now brilliantly refers to as “friendly coalition folks” — to wage this war, but let’s not forget that it was a pretty small group, featuring some pretty small countries. Under the president’s policy, the Solomon Islands would be permitted to compete for Iraqi reconstruction contracts, but China won’t. Estonia is in, Russia is out. Macedonia is in, Germany is out.
Almost as disturbing was Bush’s response to concerns about international law. A reporter noted to the president that German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said that “international law must apply here.” Bush flippantly (and predictably) discounted the notion.
Bush responded, “International law? I better call my lawyer; he didn’t bring that up to me…. I don’t know what you’re talking about, about international law. I’ve got to consult my lawyer.”
Yeah, I’m sure that’ll play well overseas.
The Washington Post noted in an editorial today that Bush’s decision on the contracts negates months of work in mending international relationships.
“What’s really strange about the administration’s latest slap at Germany, France, Canada and other countries it seems intent on treating as adversaries is that it reverses at a stroke months of patient efforts by that same administration to overcome the divisions its Iraq policy created,” the Post said.
A United Nations diplomat also summarized this point nicely: “The United States has been saying for the last couple of weeks that we have to look forward and, whatever you thought of the war, now is not the time to fight past battles but to look to the future to help the Iraqis. But the [policy] does exactly the opposite — it rehashes the past and penalizes people.”
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the range of criticism from around the globe. Naturally, leaders in France, Germany, Russia, and Canada have publicly condemned the move, and yesterday U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan joined them.
James Hoge, editor of Foreign Affairs magazine, called the administration’s position “mystifying.” “If ever we wanted to ensure that the operation in Iraq will be an all-American show, this has done it,” Hoge said.
Oddly enough, even U.S. conservatives are publicly voicing opposition to the new policy. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said yesterday that he contacted the White House to “express concern” over the decision and said he hopes to see “some moderation of the policy.”
Even traditional neocon cheerleaders like William Kristol and Robert Kagan are urging the White House to reverse course.
“A truly wise American administration would have opened the bidding to all comers, regardless of their opposition to the war — as a way of buying those countries into the Iraq effort, building a little goodwill for the future and demonstrating to the world a little magnanimity,” Kristol and Kagan said. “But instead of being smart, clever or magnanimous, the Bush administration has done a dumb thing.”
Wow. I can’t remember the last time I agreed so strongly with Kristol and Kagan.