The situation in Iraq has generated bleak headlines in recent weeks. Bombs at the United Nations headquarters and the Imam Ali mosque in Bagdhad have killed at least 118 people and violence continued this week as a bomb outside the Iraqi police headquarters killed one person and wounded 20.
By many accounts, the situation is a mess.
\What the war in Iraq has done is disrupted what was an authoritarian but relatively a stable state who really was not much engaged in terrorism, and turned it into essentially a magnate for terrorist groups,"" said Claudena Skran, an associate professor of government at Lawrence University.
The accelerated terrorist activity has created a perception in the media that the United States is embroiled in a quagmire. The cover of the Sept. 1 Newsweek asked ""So What's Plan B?"" A New York Times editorial took aim at the Bush administration when the post-combat death toll of U.S. personnel exceeded that of the military campaign.
Analysts disagree on whether the situation has reached a stagnant point, but those from both sides said increased financial and military support from a coalition of nations would help restore order in Iraq.
The White House announced Tuesday it would offer the United Nations a new resolution asking for increased support in rebuilding the country. Skran said that step would not be successful if the Bush administration does not reach out to European leaders.
To avoid a stalemate similar to the one the United States and the United Nations reached over a resolution prior to the U.S. military intervention in Iraq, the United States will have to ""adopt a more conciliatory attitude,"" Skran said.
But John McAdams, an associate professor of political science at Marquette University, said the United States will run into problems again with France, which vehemently opposed U.S. military intervention the first time around.
McAdams said a way for the United States to avoid a stalemate is ""simply to bypass the U.N. and seek cooperation from other nations individually.""
The United Nations could contribute much-needed money and expertise to the reconstruction, according to University of South Carolina international relations Professor Donald Puchala.
Puchala said U.S. forces have not shown the ability to handle administrative duties like restoring garbage pick-up and usable roads.
""With all the prowess of the Third Infantry Division, they don't know a whole lot about running buses in Bagdhad,"" he said.
In the days ahead, there is no telling how successful a new U.S.-U.N. partnership will be, Puchala said, but a lot hangs in the balance.
""I don't think anybody has a the choice of letting [the mission] fail,"" he said. ""They've got to pull a stable society out of this mess somehow,"" he said.
-the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post news service contributed to this report
