Can Kerry credibly claim to increase the allied troop presence in Iraq? Actually, it wouldn't be all that hard,

...Crown Prince Abdullah personally lobbied President Bush to agree to deploy a unit of several hundred troops from Muslim nations to help prepare for January elections.

Washington, the newspaper said, turned down the proposal because the troops would have been under U.N. control under the Saudi plan rather than the U.S. commanders...

Let's not forget that the administration rejected troop commitments from European nations immediately after the end of the war based on the same reasoning - an instinctive distrust of troops under UN command. After months of violence, when the US warmed to the idea of a UN-led force, the offer was gone.

It seems like Bush's learning curve isn't very steep; but then this is hardly news. Is there any doubt Kerry would do a better job?