Bush's speech: What's missing

On two fronts President Bush is belatedly trying to placate critics of the U.S. occupation in Iraq - and, no doubt, to save his presidency. On Monday, U.S. and British diplomats proposed a resolution in the United Nations Security Council that would endorse the transition plan that the president outlined in a speech...

Bush's five-point plan would transfer sovereignty on June 30; establish security; continue rebuilding Iraq's infrastructure; enlist unspecified "additional international support for Iraq's transition"; and achieve full Iraqi self-government by the end of next year. But all of this has been known for some time. Missing in Bush's speech ... is any acknowledgment of serious mistakes and an appeal to the international community to play a central part in resolving a crisis that is far worse than the president can ever bring himself to admit. ...

Criticism of Bush's failure to reach out more convincingly to such critics as France, Germany and Russia, which strenuously opposed the Iraq war, is warranted. But it's not at all clear that the administration can get the level of cooperation needed, in particular the deployment of large numbers of foreign troops in the face of deadly attacks by insurgents.

The only way to find out is to take the leap: Agree to share authority in return for the allies' agreement to share the burden. That means working out a host of details - with the allies and with the interim government in Baghdad - that were lacking in Bush's speech and in the U.N. resolution as offered. One would like to think much more is going on behind the scenes.

It's unrealistic to expect the president to acknowledge the gravity of the mistakes made. It's also questionable that he would have gone as far as he has were it not for the impending election and his falling numbers in opinion polls. But for whatever reason, he has begun to move in the right direction. He needs to do more, and his critics must help, if he will let them. -- The Sacramento Bee, California