In TNR, Robert Lane Greene argues that the PSOE should renege on its campaign promise to remove Spanish troops from Iraq lest Al Queda be handed an "electoral" victory andbe tempted to do it again.
With all due respect to Mr. Greene, who in an ending paragraph states that Bush and Blair need to give PSOE cover by crafting a new Security Council resolution which gives the Iraq Debacle a UN stamp of approval, he has it backwards.
The question is what will Bush do to avoid the result described by Mr. Greene. His last paragraph should have been the point of his article, to wit, how does Bush get our allies on board - of course this has always been the central flaw in Bush's policy. If handing Al Queda a "victory" as described by Greene is the awful consequence described, then it is Bush's responsibility to persuade our allies to support his policies. Does that require compromise? Probably. But, apparently, the "with us or agin us" approach won't work.
So, Mr. Greene, you have it backwards, the question is what must Bush do to deny Al Queda an "electoral victory."
http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=foreign&s=greene031504