Friedman believes we should not go it alone in Iraq and he makes a good case, primarily concerning the aftermath of war. He says this is a war of choice. It is, based on Bush's policy of preemption enunciated many months ago, last summer, I think.
If Saddam has WMD and won't give them up, they must be taken away from him, sooner rather than later. If taken by force that must be done before the summer season. It would be ridiculous to stage 250,000 troops and logistics support in that part of the world and do nothing for an extended period of time. Friedman apparently does not understand the basics of warfare. You go when you have the advantage, not when the advantage slips because of weather, morale, or other factors.
If Saddam doe not have WMD, then Bush is making a serious mistake to mount an offensive. However, our intelligence must be correct or he would never take this gamble.
He's right that rebuilding Iraq is a task that would benefit from international help. However, the help Russia, China, Germany and China would provide would be 'to help themselves' and to protect or expand their investments. We have no economic investment in Iraq, so our motives on that score cannot be impugned.
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