Nation Building

WITH SOME 15,000 American soldiers now occupying Haiti, the question of whether we ought to have intervened is moot. The question now is how to carry out the intervention in a manner that will accomplish the objectives but limit costs. The problem for the Clinton administration is that efforts to keep modest the human and financial costs endanger the success of the operation, which will, in any event, take years.The purpose of the occupation is not annexation or exploitation, but stabilization.

It's difficult to know whether to be more insulted or admiring of Penn National Gaming's latest effort to milk the residents of Maryland (and perhaps some surrounding states) for all they are worth. For sheer chutzpah, it's hard to beat a company that releases not one but two consultants' studies revealing that turning Rosecroft Raceway into a massive casino could be extremely profitable for - drum roll, please - - Penn National Gaming. Well, duh. Was there some doubt lingering in the public's mind that installing thousands of slot machines as well as possible table games in a brand-new facility in the Washington suburbs might generate much in the way of jobs or revenue?

WASHINGTON -- If there can be a silver lining to the tragedy of Sept. 11 and the war on terrorism, it is that such events force leaders to rethink priorities and seize new opportunities. For President Bush and his foreign policy team, one hopes that this crisis will stanch their knee-jerk aversion to "nation-building" -- the concept of using U.S. resources to promote democracy, build institutions and infrastructure and provide humanitarian aid in order to enhance stability by giving societies a chance to succeed.

If nothing else comes out of the Iraq war, it should banish the concept of "nation-building" from our language and our minds. "The track record of nation-building and Wilsonian grandiosity ought to give anyone pause," as was said in this column before the Iraq war began. We can now add Iraq to the list of disasters. The very existence of Iraq is a result of Woodrow Wilson's grandiose ideas about "the right of self-determination of peoples," which led to the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire by the allied powers after World War I. Some of the most bitter and intractable conflicts of our time have arisen in nations carved out of the Ottoman Empire, whether in the Balkans or the Middle East.

Here's some good news: In Afghanistan, after two years of inadequate funding for reconstruction and a short-sighted military plan, there's finally a good plan and money for it. The plan involves putting more than a dozen small provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs) - about 80 soldiers and civilian administrators - into the countryside, supporting them with a larger force if necessary, and bringing enough security that reconstruction money can flow in, elections can go forward, and Afghanistan can get back on its feet.

WASHINGTON - President Bush speaks with pride about what the military has achieved in Afghanistan since ousting the Taliban: It has helped to train an army and to build roads, schools and hospitals - even start a baseball league. Now, the White House is discussing a far more ambitious reconstruction plan for Iraq if Saddam Hussein is toppled. One idea is for the United States and its allies to occupy Iraq and lead the government until a new regime is safely in place. Both actions amount to "nation-building" - the use of the military, and often aid organizations, to police a war-ravaged country and rebuild institutions.

PARIS -- Christmas in snowy Bosnia is not the stuff of holiday dreams, but the deployment of NATO forces there has provided an American and allied Christmas gift not only to the people of the former Yugoslavia but to all of us.The gift to the people of Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia is peace, admittedly precarious. The gift to the rest of us is the lesson that peace has to be made. It is not produced by muddled, avowedly impartial, international interventions or well-meant exhortations to dialogue, delivered to people who have nothing to say to one another.

THE DEBATE about President Bush's latest posture on the Middle East boils down to a dispute over his sincerity. At home and abroad, his supporters argue that his call for fundamental political and social reform offers Palestinians a defined path not only to statehood but more prosperous, stable and orderly lives. His critics believe Bush has established a set of conditions that he knows the Palestinians cannot meet as a pretext to indefinitely freeze negotiations toward independence. From that angle, the real goal isn't reform, but delay.

THREE YEARS after candidate George W. Bush scoffed at the notion of nation-building, President Bush is its leading proponent. In a February address, the president outlined a hopeful vision of a free Iraq serving as a catalyst for peace in the Middle East. A month later, he made it clear that the objective in Iraq was more than just removing Saddam Hussein. He emphasized in his televised March address America's determination to build a "prosperous and free" Iraq that would set an example for the Middle East of a "peaceful and self-governing nation."

CHICAGO - President Bush may have trouble with voters on his handling of the economy, the deficit and other domestic matters, but when it comes to foreign policy, he's been riding high. The latest Gallup Poll found he gets his best ratings in international affairs, with 54 percent of Americans approving of his policies. Given recent events, that's the equivalent of New Yorkers throwing a party for the people who caused the blackout. His record on foreign policy, after all, is not exactly studded with triumphs.

Outside the First District police headquarters in New Orleans last September, a squad of heavily armed officers waded through water along Basin Street toward Canal. They were quitting, they said. After Hurricane Katrina, the floods, the looting, the collapse of basic services, even the police didn't feel safe. For a few days, the residents of the Gulf Coast got a taste of life in the world's failed states - dozens of countries, from Haiti to Sierra Leone, where electricity and potable water are scarce, governments feeble and the rule of law a daydream.

It seemed like just talk, a silly sports-bar argument that could never be resolved. Especially not when Major League Baseball and its players union would have to agree to make it happen. Yet, amazingly, the two sides came together without a scandal forcing solidarity. Last week, the warring factions, in conjunction with several international federations, announced the creation of the "World Baseball Classic," a 16-country tournament that will mirror soccer's World Cup and take place next March during spring training.

Here's some good news: In Afghanistan, after two years of inadequate funding for reconstruction and a short-sighted military plan, there's finally a good plan and money for it. The plan involves putting more than a dozen small provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs) - about 80 soldiers and civilian administrators - into the countryside, supporting them with a larger force if necessary, and bringing enough security that reconstruction money can flow in, elections can go forward, and Afghanistan can get back on its feet.

TODAY IS the 146th birthday of William Howard Taft, our 27th president and our 10th chief justice (the only man to serve in both positions). His greatest service to his country, however, occurred before he rose so high. The Taft presidency (1909-13) was an unhappy episode that killed his friendship with Theodore Roosevelt and doomed a divided Republican Party to defeat. His tenure on the Supreme Court (1921-30) got high marks for administration but offered little in judicial philosophy.

CHICAGO - President Bush may have trouble with voters on his handling of the economy, the deficit and other domestic matters, but when it comes to foreign policy, he's been riding high. The latest Gallup Poll found he gets his best ratings in international affairs, with 54 percent of Americans approving of his policies. Given recent events, that's the equivalent of New Yorkers throwing a party for the people who caused the blackout. His record on foreign policy, after all, is not exactly studded with triumphs.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Last Wednesday, two top U.S. generals in Iraq held a news conference in Baghdad's half-wrecked convention center. The subject was deteriorating security, and the two officers, Lt. Gen. David D. McKiernan and Maj. Gen. Buford Blount III, were pummeled by the press about why they weren't doing more to make Baghdad safer. It was 102 degrees, and in the middle of the session all the lights went out. The two generals looked as if they were enjoying this encounter about as much as a root canal.

Hundreds of protesters from across the region defied snow and steadily dropping temperatures in downtown Baltimore yesterday to march, sing and speak out against what they say could be "a devastating and disastrous war" against Iraq. At least 250 people filled the rectory at St. Vincent DePaul Church on Front Street yesterday afternoon, and organizers say twice that many or more had earlier marched from Camden Station to City Hall. "Look around," said the Rev. Richard Lawrence, pastor of the church.

THREE YEARS after candidate George W. Bush scoffed at the notion of nation-building, President Bush is its leading proponent. In a February address, the president outlined a hopeful vision of a free Iraq serving as a catalyst for peace in the Middle East. A month later, he made it clear that the objective in Iraq was more than just removing Saddam Hussein. He emphasized in his televised March address America's determination to build a "prosperous and free" Iraq that would set an example for the Middle East of a "peaceful and self-governing nation."