WASHINGTON -- Deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is in custody, but the struggle to suppress Iraqi insurgents remains. Washington needs allied help to lighten its burden. The most generous aid should come from nations that the United States has defended for decades, particularly Japan and South Korea, with which America has long maintained "mutual" defense treaties.
The Bush administration chose to attack Iraq with a hollow coalition, of which only two nations, Britain and Australia, offered meaningful military support. Thus it comes as no surprise that just a few countries, such as Italy, Poland and Ukraine, subsequently offered troop detachments worth counting for garrison duty.
Most nations had little inclination to bail out America and have grown less willing to help as violence has spread in Iraq. Both Japan and South Korea eagerly promised cooperation in the midst of America's swift victory. But as the situation in Iraq turned ugly, both began a backward tango over troop contributions.