"Grave and Deteriorating" -- Iraq Study Group

The report is in and it is a pointed challenge to the decision makers in Washington and in Baghdad. A group of ten senior statesmen/woman, five republican, five democrat, led by James Baker and Lee Hamilton. Pragmatic in orientation, patriots most assuredly, committed to something good to come. I watched as the report was presented and the questions were asked. There was no bravado, nor huh rah! Just plain spoken advice that may turn things around. As David Gergen said on CNN, this is like the one last chance.

The points are clear:

1. Shift in mission from front line fighting to training (increasing embedded trainers from around 4000 to about 20,000).
2. Commitment on the part of Iraq to milestones -- if we're to continue support
3. A comprehensive diplomatic effort that will include all the parties in the region -- including Iran and Syria, together with parallel and connected efforts to resolve the Syria-Lebanon and Palestinian-Israeli issues.

No easy task, but this is the one bipartisan suggestion. Seventy-nine recommendations, all accepted unanimously, it will be tempting to cherry-pick, but to do so raises the prospects of failure. Ultimately, as Leon Panetta reminded the audience of reporters and the nation watching on TV, no success will be achievable unless our nation is united behind it. Thus a direct salvo at the Rovian "divide and conquer" mentality that has not just divided the country, but has undermined our efforts in Iraq and elsewhere.

I've been from the beginning an opponent of the war and the president's subsequent handling of the war. Robert Gates' responses yesterday were refreshingly frank. No double talk, just the facts. Things are going bad and we have to change. No stay the course, because that's simply not working. No cut and run either, because that will leave Iraq in chaos. We broke it and now we must help fix it, as best we can. Of course the Iraqi's and the Iranians and the Syrians and the Saudis also have to want this to succeed. My prayers are with those who will undertake this important effort.

Comments

Robert Cornwall said…
An update -- heard on the news that the White House says that they don't see the Study Group's report being an indictment of current White House policy. If they don't see it as an indictment then the state of denial continues. I expected spin, but this beats all!

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