Susan Page: Next step will be tough choice (about the war)

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=676&ncid=676&e=3&u=/usatoday/20031107/ts_usatoday/11941810



Next step will be tough choice
Fri Nov 7.2003

By Susan Page,

When it comes to Iraq (news - web sites), all the options on what to do next are difficult ones. Two weeks of escalating violence against U.S. forces, including the downing of a helicopter that killed 16 soldiers, are fueling a debate over whether the United States should deploy more troops or bring them back.


The mounting U.S. death toll and the $87.5 billion price tag for reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan (news - web sites) have reopened fundamental questions about the current war: defining U.S. goals, deciding how they can be achieved and agreeing on an "exit strategy." (Related item: Latest poll results)


Driving the debate: public opinion in both nations. Americans are increasingly pessimistic about the war. In a USA TODAY/CNN/Gallup Poll, their rating for Bush on handling Iraq fell to its lowest level. And many Iraqis, even those who welcomed Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s ouster, are pressing for a more limited U.S. role and a quicker exit.


"The welcome mat is clearly not going to be there forever," says Richard Haass, a senior official at the State Department in the Bush administration until he resigned last spring to become president of the Council on Foreign Relations. "And it's only a question of time before domestic opposition to this commitment mounts. It's turning out to be a lot more difficult and a lot more expensive than people bargained for."