U-M expert: UN, not U.S., should handle post-war rebuilding

With the debate underway regarding post-war control of Iraq, a University professor says the rebuilding efforts and political control should be handled by the United Nations, not the United States or another country.

"The U.S. should keep a relatively low profile," says J. David Singer, a political science professor who specializes in international conflict and war. "The United States and the U.K. (United Kingdom) would be making a serious mistake were they to take on the task of rebuilding of physical, social and economic infrastructures."

The U.S. influence and prestige in that part of the world is "tragically low," he says, and a prominent rebuilding role by Americans will further deteriorate this perception.

"The United Nations should begin the rebuilding tasks now, in part, due to the high level of anarchy." —Professor J. David Singer

In addition, the United States has not maintained a good track record of solving social and political problems, such as Haiti, Kosovo and Serbia, he says.

This global system needs organizationssuch as the United Nations, which has experience in humanitarian aidthat allow many perspectives, he says. Some post-war tasks include establishing law and order (minimizing looting), distributing water, food and sanitation facilities, attending to health risks of coalition troops and preventing oil field destruction, he says.

The United Nations should begin the rebuilding tasks now, in part, due to the high level of anarchy, Singer says. Reconstituting political and social systems will take at least four or five years, he says.

"The longer we wait for international intrusion, the greater the opportunity for the centripetal forces to take hold," Singer says. "You can easily imagine a country like this could look like Afghanistan in six months, in which you could have five or six regions that acquire a degree of autonomy."

Having smaller nation states isn't necessarily bad, he says, but it's better that any plans come from meaningful collaboration rather than who has the most troops in that country.

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