Could it get any more humiliating than this for the 1600 Crew? A NYT headline that says:

U.S. May Be Forced to Go Back to U.N. for Iraq Mandate

President Yo Soy es Mas Macho, who embodies all those UN-hating republicans having to go back to the UN and ask for assistance in Iraq. What delicious irony.

The Bush administration, which spurned the United Nations in its drive to depose Saddam Hussein in Iraq, is finding itself forced back into the arms of the international body because other nations are refusing to contribute peacekeeping troops or reconstruction money without United Nations approval.

With the costs of stabilizing Iraq hovering at $4 billion a month and with American troops being killed at a steady rate, administration officials acknowledge that they are rethinking their strategy and may seek a United Nations resolution for help that would placate other nations, like India, France and Germany.

Administration officials contend that they are being practical, but within their ranks are policy makers sharply critical of the United Nations and those who would consider it humiliating to seek its mantle after risking American lives in the invasion that ousted Mr. Hussein.