Wednesday, December 06, 2006

The Way Forward

Well, the report is in - literally. The Baker-Hamilton report was released today and it flat out says that stay the course is not an option.

"The situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating. There is no path that can guarantee success, but the prospects can be improved."

Hopefully, Bush will actually use this, along with the new Sec. of Defense as political cover to actually change course.

What I find very interesting about the report is that it acknowledges the role of the Palestine/Israeli conflict in the regions instability.

"The United States cannot achieve its goals in the Middle East unless it deals directly with the Arab-Israeli conflict and regional instability. There must be a renewed and sustained commitment by the United States to a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace on all fronts: Lebanon, Syria and President Bush's June 2002 commitment to a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. This commitment must include direct talks with, by and between Israel, Lebanon, Palestinians — those who accept Israel's right to exist — and Syria."


It took a lot of political balls to not only call Bush out on his failed Iraq policy, but on his failure to fully engage the other problems.

I will keep my fingers crossed that something will come out of this report, but I will not hold my breath. I doubt that Bush has the intellectual depth to comprehend the big picture on the Middle East and the War on Terror.

Excerpts of Iraq Study Group report

Panel: Bush Iraq policy 'not working'

Reaction to Iraq recommendations

Bush text on Baker-Hamilton report

Iraq Panel Calls Conditions 'Grave and Deteriorating'

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