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Recent developments in Iraq highlight the need for a new approach to the process of democratizing that country. Without a history of democracy, the people of that nation are dependent upon the rest of the world to help them out. Unfortunately, some countries (and the United Nations bureaucracy) were bought off by the dictator Saddam Hussein and others have been scared off by Islamic terrorists.

As Clausewitz so eloquently stated in his seminal work, On War, war is often a continuation of politics. Conversely, war can be waged politically as well as militarily. The United States (and the rest of the Coalition) needs to start waging the war for freedom in Iraq politically as well as militarily. And by that, I most assuredly do not mean through endless diplomatic debate. The time for diplomacy has come and gone.

What I mean by politically, but not diplomatically, is that the United States needs to play hardball with the nations who refuse participate in the war against terrorism, whether it be Iraq or any other place on Earth threatened by terrorism, despotism and totalitarianism. The United States bore the brunt of the costs associated with fighting the Cold War, but it need not bear the brunt of the costs of this war. The rest of the world is far better off economically than it was fifty years ago and can and should help out in this war. There should be no negotiations or endless rounds of talks, the United States should point to the economic bottom line and declare "this is it, if you want the money you have to support our efforts to protect you and the rest of the world".

For example, let's take a look at the actions by Spain (and by association, Honduras and the Dominican Republic) in Iraq. They bowed to terrorist pressure and have recalled their troops from Iraq. Fine, the United States should respond by withdrawing their foreign aid from Spain. Perhaps not all of it, but enough to make it hurt, and to let Spain know that standing with us is far better than bowing to the terrorists. Spain may or may not realize that their entire country is coveted by the Islamic terrorists, but realizing that could well take a decade or more. We need to demonstrate today the negative consequences of their actions.

Similarly, we have discovered that the dictator Saddam Hussein was bribing United Nations officials and diplomats and leaders in countries like France, Germany and Russia. One need look no further for the reasons why these entities opposed the liberation of Iraq. The response by the United States should be to eliminate a multiple of the money these countries accepted from Saddam Hussein for a multiple of years that they accepted bribes. If, for example, France accepted $20 million from Saddam over a period of two years to oppose the war, then the United States should reduce aid to France by $200 million for five years. If the United Nations accepted money then the United States should not only reduce aid to this organization (and demand that France, Germany and Russia pick up the slack) it should also bill the United Nations for the cost of liberating Iraq.

The United States wields considerable economic power, and to not use it as a weapon in the war against terrorism is folly. You wage war to win, and the best way to win is to bring maximum force to bear upon your enemy where they can tolerate it least. In the war against terrorism, the terrorists count on being able to find (or force) nations to provide a safe haven for them, and to act as intermediaries in financial and political deals. President Bush had it right when he declared that you are either with us or with the terrorists, and that the United States will treat nations harboring terrorists the same way we deal with terrorists. To that we should add a third maxim: the United States will not allow any nation that receives United States aid to sit on the sidelines in this war.

We are a team, and we will win this war together, with everyone doing their share.

Without a history of democracy, the people of that nation are dependent upon the rest of the world to help them out.

War can be waged politically as well as militarily

The United States should...bill the United Nations for the cost of liberating Iraq.

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You wage war to win, and the best way to win is to bring maximum force to bear upon your enemy where they can tolerate it least