The White House botched a golden opportunity to appeal to the international community yesterday. The U.S. needs international assistance -- both military and financial -- to secure an increasingly violent Iraq. Yesterday was also a chance to rally the global community behind critical issues like nuclear proliferation in the Axis of Evil and the war in Afghanistan. Instead, as the New York Times writes, President Bush delivered an "inexplicably defiant" speech in which he "glossed over the current dire situation in Iraq for an audience acutely aware of the true state of affairs, and scolded them for refusing to endorse the American invasion in the first place." American Progress' Bob Boorstin points out, "The president touted the worldwide march of democracy, butsugar-coated grim challenges facing Iraq and Afghanistan, where growing turmoil threatens to disrupt upcoming elections. [more
]