After identifying Iraq as a part of the \axis of evil"" and campaigning for the removal of the Saddam Hussein regime from the country earlier this year, the Bush administration may decide to delay any military action until next year due to its shaky standing with a majority of Middle Eastern states, according to a recent New York Times article.
The article, which quoted senior officials in President Bush's administration as saying a plan is being developed for the deployment of 70,000 to 250,000 American troops in Iraq next year, has sparked debate among experts concerning the effectiveness of overthrowing the Hussein regime.
""The trouble at the moment is there really are no local allies currently available,"" UW-Madison Professor of history and religious studies David Morgan said.
The president has not had any specific plans presented to him since his condemnation of Iraq, according to National Security Council Spokesperson Sean McCormick.
""We have said very consistently ... that the president has had no plans presented to him, no options presented to him and therefore has made no decision in regard to Iraq,"" he said, but added ""The policy of this administration and the law of the land is for regime change in Iraq.""
Erik Guftason, executive director of the Education for Peace in Iraq Center, said he was concerned with what the face of Iraq will look like after the United States implants a new government.
""A really serious issue is how is the United States going to go about to supplant a government an install a new one that's not going to have the legitimacy of the people of Iraq behind it,"" he said.
The issue of legitimacy should not be a problem, because a new regime would have not only the backing of the Iraqi citizens but also the world community, McCormick said.
'The entire world understands the nature of this regime'how dangerous it is to the world in its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction and the threat he poses to his own people,"" he said. ""I think the Iraqi people ... would certainly welcome a taste of freedom.""
Morgan said the Bush administration did not want to mistake Iraq for a larger version of Afghanistan, where the United States completed a total overthrow of the Taliban regime earlier this year with the help of local rebels.
""In Afghanistan you were dealing with a regime that had been there for on the very outside, six to seven years. [Hussein's] regime has been there for 30 years,"" he said.
Guftason said he wishes Bush would consider a policy direction which would not include direct invasion to deal with the problems associated with Iraq.
""Obviously there are issues about weapons of mass destruction and about how much disaster to Iraq Saddam Hussein has been, but there are other ways of [changing] that,"" he said.
The Bush administration is in no rush to tackle the Iraq problem and will look at all possibilities, McCormick reiterated.
""Realizing all this, we have said that we will deal with the Saddam Hussein regime in Baghdad at the hour and in the manner of our choosing,"" he said.
