In Iraq, perception is reality

If there's one thing the Bush administration should have learned by now about the people of Iraq, it is that perception is reality when it comes to America's presence in that troubled land.
A growing number of Iraqis, even supporters of the war that resulted in the ouster of murderous dictator Saddam Hussein, now believe that the United States is an occupier of their country rather than a facilitator of democracy. And that is creating a backlash and an erosion of the goodwill we enjoyed soon after the invasion earlier this year.
Why then would the administration seek to exacerbate this problem by looking to establish the next U.S. Embassy in Saddam's grandiose presidential palace in Baghdad. Are the president's advisers so blind to the fact that the palace is viewed by many Iraqis as the symbol of iron-fisted rule?
Power grab
If the American flag files over the palace, we will simply be feeding the perception that the United States is actually the power behind any government that may be formed.
Instead of turning the palace into an embassy, the Bush administration should find a public use for it. The structure could become the symbol of unity and hope for the Iraqi people.
Access would be restricted if this dominant edifice were an embassy. Therein lies the problem.