6 months ago, when the bush administration was still as cocky as ever, georgy porgy petulantly said "fine! we don't need your stinking help", and went to war with iraq. now, the tune has changed somewhat. so, what gives, george? you go ahead and take daddy's car without permission, crash it, then stick your nose in the air and say "you got insurance, YOU fix it". well, you're gonna' get a spanking, is my guess...


By Andrew Marshall

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Attackers firing guns and rocket-propelled grenades killed a U.S. soldier in Baghdad on Saturday as Washington considered asking the United Nations (news - web sites) to help restore order in Iraq (news - web sites) and contain a guerrilla insurgency.


A U.S. spokesman said the soldier was attacked in the early hours as he guarded a bank in western Baghdad. He was the second soldier killed in Iraq in 24 hours, bringing the number of U.S. troops to die from hostile fire to 149 -- more than the 147 killed in the 1991 Gulf War (news - web sites).


The spokesman said four soldiers had also been wounded in the Rashid district of Baghdad on Saturday morning when a home- made bomb was detonated near their patrol.


In another expression of Iraqi anger, more than 10,000 Shi'ite Muslim protesters marched through the capital to demand an end to alleged U.S. harassment of Shi'ite leader Moqtada al- Sadr. Sadr on Friday denounced Iraq's new U.S.-backed Governing Council, saying it did not represent the country.


Facing daily attacks, Washington may turn to the United Nations to try to persuade countries to send soldiers or share costs, running at around $4 billion a month, diplomats said.


The State Department said Washington was open to giving the U.N. a bigger role in Iraq, especially if other governments respond by offering more to peacekeeping and reconstruction.


"We're open to this prospect. We're indeed talking about it with other people, but at this point I can't draw to a conclusion," spokesman Richard Boucher said.


In his first major report on postwar Iraq, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan (news - web sites) said Iraqis did not want democracy imposed by outsiders and rated lawlessness as their main concern.


Annan, who sent the report to Security Council members on Friday for discussion on Tuesday, also envisioned an ambitious U.N. role in Iraq in the transition to help form a new Iraqi government. He made clear that role would exclude responsibility for law and order.