Now that we are pounding Iraq, there is no doubt that our military effort will be far more successful than the President's futile diplomatic initiatives. But, in the long run, the failed diplomacy may haunt us and our troops, who will occupy Iraq when the battles are over. Every American stands behind our troops. Every one of us should be equally worried about the aftermath of war and the huge risks for our military and our country.

While Senate Republicans have called Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle nearly treasonous for pointing out the failure of the Administration's diplomacy, he is absolutely right to voice his opinion. Ultimatums, taunts and insults are not diplomacy. And that has been this Administration's modus operandi with the United Nations and NATO.

Diplomacy, instead, requires a willingness to listen to others' points of view. It doesn't mean you must fold under pressure, but it does mean you have to treat others, particularly your allies, with respect. President Bush seems not understand this, or maybe he just doesn't care.

Yes, the President spent months trying to get the United Nations to support war with Iraq. He tried hard to get NATO to join his so-called "coalition of the willing". These countries, our allies for half a century, did not agree that Iraq was an imminent threat. For that, he marginalized and humiliated them. This, not war, is the primary reason for the rampant anti-Americanism around the world. This is failed diplomacy.

While Secretary of State Colin Powell touts the 30 countries that support our war with Iraq, only one, Great Britain, is committing significant resources. When our allies are countries like impoverished Albania, war-torn Colombia, devastated Eritrea and Ethiopia, we can be sure there will be no material aid from most of this coalition.

Nonetheless, the Administration has hinted that the United Nations should help pay for rebuilding Iraq. After the Gulf War, the world ponied up billions of dollars to pay for evicting Iraq from Kuwait. Then, there was no doubt that Iraq was a threat. Other countries were only too happy to have us take on the burden of war. Today, obviously, this is not the case. And, since the President has called those who disagree with him "irrelevant," it is even more remarkable that he thinks they should pay for his war.

Now, as we face a long-term occupation of Iraq, how do we rebuild our tattered reputation around the world? How do we get the people who overwhelmingly oppose this war, even if their leaders don't, to believe again that the United States is a beacon of freedom, a leader to be admired?

In an article last week entitled "The Arrogant Empire," Newsweek asked, "should the guiding philosophy of the world's leading democracy really be the tough talk of a Chicago mobster? This strategy has been a disaster. It has alienated friends and delighted enemies." We need to rethink this philosophy.

Lest we believe we can act alone in the world without suffering consequences, we need only remind ourselves that terrorism knows no boundaries. Our young men and women in Iraq, Americans and American interests everywhere, will be targets of terrorist attacks from those who hate our arrogance.

Our global ties go way beyond the fight against terrorism. We depend on international organizations and agreements to assure our economic opportunities, global communications, access to travel and shipping, an uninterrupted oil supply. We know that an environmental disaster in Russia or China can contaminate our air and soil and that disease knows no territorial boundaries.

To keep America safe and strong, we depend on the world's goodwill. Now that we've demonstrated our military authority, it is even more important to restore our moral authority. As Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill knew at the end of World War II, it is diplomacy, not war, that will guarantee our future security and freedom. We owe our troops in Iraq the same effort on the diplomatic front that they are putting into the battlefield. Without that, no matter how stunning our military success, this war will ultimately fail.