A change of heart

摘要

As the White House tells it, there has been no U-turn. But this week, George Bush decided to ask the United Nations to approve the creation of a multinational force in Iraq. Although the move had been leaked beforehand, he decided to make the Dutch prime minister his spokesman. Having confirmed the president's intentions, Jan Peter Balkenende announced that Mr Bush was willing to give the UN "a larger responsibility", before adding "and that is very good". As The Economist went to press, a draft resolution was being discussed by the five permanent members of the Security Council. The resolution would create a UN force in Iraq that will be under American command but will also intermittently report back to the Security Council. It also invites the American-appointed Iraqi Governing Council to submit a plan to the UN for drawing up a constitution, establishing a provisional government and holding elections (though, crucially, it does not give the UN the final say in this matter).