The coalition military strategists must be taking stock of the latest situation, which is certainly not of the kind they had envisaged when Baghdad fell to the US troops in May. The Samara bloodbath is not to be mistaken as an incident having little to do with the overall run of things in Iraq. President Bush wanted to win the hearts and minds of Iraqis, but when people die in droves, the goal looks like a distant one.

The coalition strategists should ask themselves what they could achieve if the troops come under attack and kill civilians in retaliation. This is the kind of senseless killing that puts a big question mark on the mission. Moreover, it is going to be attritional.

President Bush has reason to be worried, but he still has the time to acknowledge that the only way to get out of the morass is to give the UN its due role in the war-ravaged country, whose people seem desperate to regain their sovereignty. The primacy of the UN role in the resolution of the crisis is something that cannot be sidetracked any more. All the more so, because nothing has happened so far that could substantiate President Bush's claim that the situation is improving. Rather, the recent attacks on nationals from some other countries only gave a grim picture of Iraq under occupation.