US tiring of imperial role

Something like this had to happen sooner or later: "U.S. might ask NATO to take over control of Iraq occupation."

Such a change would discomfit some administration hard-liners, as it would force the United States to share decision-making on Iraq with European leaders who opposed the U.S.-led invasion, analysts said. It might also require seeking a mandate from the United Nations Security Council, which the United States failed to get before launching the war to topple Saddam Hussein.

But as the single most powerful nation in NATO, the United States would retain military command while spreading the burden and costs among a number of nations, thereby easing demands on overstretched American forces, diplomats said.

Public opinion polls show that American support for the continued US presence in Iraq is slipping. Next year is a presidential election year, which is undoubtedly influencing the administration's actions. Americans will not want to bear the burdens of the rest of the world indefinitely.

Incidentally Canada has a role to play here, but thus far our public spending priorities, which have allowed our defensive capabilities to atrophy, do not support such a role. This cannot be continued either and will have to change if a more equitable international order is to be established and maintained.